Environmental hazards can originate on the property, the lot next door or from remote sources miles away. Hazardous materials can be in the soil, the air, the water or can be part of the building itself.
Environmental hazards affect human health and real estate values.
Environmental hazards can be hidden and difficult to detect. Buyers should always order a thorough inspection of any property they intend to buy. If the inspection reveals that hazardous materials may be present, they should also order specific tests to find out the extent of the problem and the cost to fix it. There are too many hazardous materials to list here, and science is discovering more all the time. However, the real estate industry has lumped environmental hazards into the following general categories.