With 1 in 3 Australian houses being affected by termites, it's not uncommon for a house to have had a previous treatment, and while it's good that something has been done to deal with the termites, sometimes the residues of the treatment are far from safe.
Take Arsenic Trioxide for example.
This highly toxic substance has been used for many years to eradicate termite colonies, the main drawback however, is that this substance is left behind in the timber long after the termites have been eradicated.
If there was any doubt about how dangerous it is, look at the MSDS for the Arsenic Dust commonly used for termite eradication and then correlate the Schedule 7 Poison label with this list.
To add insult to injury, it's mandated that notification be provided when arsenic is used to control termites in a building (as with many other termite treatments) however, during our inspections we seldom find any reference to any termite treatment in the meter box or anywhere else in the house. It's usually when we're confronted by the actual dusting that we first realise that arsenic dusting has taken place.
If you're worried that your home could have arsenic in the timber, make sure that you get a thorough inspection outlining if there has been any termite damage or treatments.
The bright red dust you see in this picture is arsenic trioxide dust. It was used in the past to eradicate termites from this timber and the dust is clearly visible.
The Arsenic trioxide dust penetrates deep into galleries in the timber. Thus exposing anyone who works on the timber, (think renovation) exposed to arsenic trioxide dust. A Schedule 7 Dangerous poison.