Chlorodane treatment (XP)

DharmaChick

We are in the process of purchasing our house.  Our home inspection went well (a few weeks ago), but the inspector noticed that the basement showed signs of termite treatment (filled drill holes for the treatment, no termite damage).  The seller had not previously disclosed this, but when our agent asked about it, she said that 20-25 yrs ago her husband had it done as a preventative measure, as termites were spotted elsewhere in the neighborhood.

To be extra cautious, we had Terminix inspect the house specifically for any evidence of termites.  The inspection came up clean, and the inspector told us that the home would probably still be protected for many more years, as it was likely treated with chlorodane, which is a potent pesticide that is now illegal.   We were so relieved by the report, that we signed the P&S and didn't give it another thought...

Until now.  We have half an acre and I know that DH & I plan on doing plenty of gardening.  I did a brief web search on chlorodane and found info about it being a dangerous carcinogen.   

We close in May, though that is not really a factor, I guess, as we definitely plan on going through with the purchase.  I just don't know what to do from here about the chlorodane.  I may just be overly-anxious about it, but what I've read sounds scary, and my mom went through cancer twice, so any mention of a carcinogen makes me pretty nervous!!

Has anyone else had experience with this?

OSULisa

It's chlordane, I work in environmental toxicology.  You have very little to worry about given the time since it was applied.  You can always have your soil tested if your really concerned.  It was likely only applied to areas near/next to the house, and any residual chlordane would likely be in the top 1-2 ft of soil. My suggestion would be to wear gardening gloves while working in the dirt near the house, and wash your hands afterwards, and don't eat the dirt.  If you have plans for gardening for food consumption I'd plant in the other areas of your property and not right up to the house, and wash the crops before eating them.