XPost: misc.consumers, misc.consumers.house   
   From: w_tom1@hotmail.com   
      
     As The Etobian demonstrates, cleaning a building is grossly   
   expensive. Oil saturates things that don't easily clean.   
   Without removing a contaminated foundation, then household air   
   is toxic to human life.  Again, this should be obvious.   
      
      Basement was a pool of oil.  A responsible building   
   inspector declared the building condemned since that oil   
   contamination could not be removed from the concrete floor and   
   building foundation.  A problem so severe that only a corrupt   
   building inspector would not have condemned that building.   
   Therefore the landlord eventually conceded and razed the   
   entire building - foundation included.   
      
     Also obvious, a house requires a certificate of occupancy.   
   A house with a basement pool of oil cannot be occupied and   
   must undergo massive reconstruction to clean it.  Often more   
   than a house is even worth.  However some landlords don't care   
   about human life - which is why inspectors (not the landlord)   
   say when a building is safe to occupy.  This too is obvious.   
   A building still contaminated by oil could only be occupied if   
   the building inspector was corrupt.   
      
     Which obvious part are you having a problem with?  There is   
   no (inexpensive) removing fuel oil from the basement floor and   
   foundation.  Those materials must be removed.  Vapors from   
   those contaminated materials obviously are toxic to human   
   life.   
      
   v wrote:   
   > Huh?  1st part made sense.  2nd part doesn't.  "Corrupt"????  So if   
   > the owner of the property goes ahead and rents it anyways, without   
   > benefit of a permit, how is the GOVERNMENT "corrupt"?  Incompetent?   
   > Unobservant?  You'd have to PROVE that the owner was in fact issued a   
   > permit he didn't deserve, in exchange for a bribe, to show that a   
   > particular person in the government is "corrupt".   
   >   
   > And that is a long way and several steps beyond claiming that the mere   
   > fact that someone is using the house means the "government" is   
   > corrupt.   
   >   
   > I also would like some demonstration as to why it is "obvious" that   
   > the house has to come down to the foundation.  Spills happen and get   
   > cleaned up with regularity without houses having to come down to the   
   > foundation.  Presumably no oil spilled upstairs, so why take down the   
   > whole house.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)