nvironmental issues are a major concern in the status quo especially as land is becoming more limited and businesses are redeveloping on used land. These concerns arise in all types of real estate transactions; from the individual residences to large commercial facilities. Although the financial risks involved in these transactions are manageable, if environmental issues are not properly identified and mangaged prior to the property transaction, the owner may unknowingly assume substantial property liabilities in the longrun. Environmental issues can occur within the property site as well as from other parties. These concerns include land contamination, mold, asbestos and even cases of radon.
One of the biggest environmental concerns is land contamination. Land contamination includes pollution caused by human activities such as inappropriate trash disposal. However, the vast majority of land contamination is a result of industries dumping a variety of chemicals into soil or water. For example, the chemicals in soil may affect plants grown on the land and chemical releases to water may make the water unsuitable for drinking or used in industry production. This issue receives a large amount of attention in any real estate transaction because contamination may result from that specific site or from the flows of other sites. Locating the source of such land contamination is imperative because it results in the extent of liabilities for the site owners. If the contamination results from outside sources and other facilities, then the site owner bears a lesser liability as oppose to land contamination originating directly from the site. Additionally, identifying the source enables appropriate allocation of responsibilities in order to refu ...