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National curriculum lesson · Disclosures

Environmental Hazards and Disclosure

Common exam hazards include lead-based paint, radon, asbestos, mold and moisture, underground storage tanks, contaminated soil or groundwater, hazardous materials, flood hazards, and wetlands. The correct response is usually to identify the issue, avoid unsupported conclusions, provide required federal or state information, disclose known material facts, and recommend testing or specialist review.

Facts checked against the current PSI Candidate Information Bulletin and GREC sources. Editorial standards.

What is the exam-ready answer?

Common exam hazards include lead-based paint, radon, asbestos, mold and moisture, underground storage tanks, contaminated soil or groundwater, hazardous materials, flood hazards, and wetlands. The correct response is usually to identify the issue, avoid unsupported conclusions, provide required federal or state information, disclose known material facts, and recommend testing or specialist review.
Official syllabus mapping for Environmental Hazards and Disclosure
Official syllabus topicEnvironmental Hazards and Disclosure
Official PSI areaProperty Disclosures
Published area weight7% of the 100-question national portion
Exam portionNational salesperson portion
Source editionPSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026

The Rule

PSI publishes the weight for the complete content area, not a fixed question count for this lesson. Learn the rule well enough to apply it when PSI changes names, numbers, or parties in a new scenario.

The lesson

These ideas work together. On the exam, the wrong answers usually describe a nearby concept, so learn where each one stops.

Lead-based paint

For most housing built before 1978, federal rules require the seller or lessor to provide the EPA pamphlet, disclose known lead information and available records, include contract language, and give purchasers the required evaluation opportunity unless waived as permitted.

Radon and asbestos

Radon is an invisible radioactive gas assessed through testing. Asbestos-containing material is not identified reliably by sight; disturbing damaged or friable material can increase exposure and requires qualified guidance.

Moisture, mold, and tanks

Moisture source control is central to mold concerns. Current or former underground tanks can create leak, cleanup, and regulatory issues that require records and environmental assessment.

Flood and wetland issues

A FEMA flood designation informs insurance and risk but is not the only source of flooding. Wetlands and protected areas can affect permits and development even when a site remains privately owned.

Decision rule

Match the hazard to the official disclosure, testing, records, and specialist pathway instead of guessing from appearance.

Georgia-specific distinction

Federal lead requirements apply in Georgia to covered housing. Georgia transactions also require attention to known material adverse facts, actual flood history, private reports, and local or agency controls beyond a map label.

Worked example

Scenario. A 1965 home has peeling paint and no lead inspection records.

Reason it through. Age triggers federal lead-disclosure analysis, while appearance alone cannot establish whether paint contains lead.

Answer. Provide the required federal information and opportunity, disclose known records or hazards, and recommend qualified risk assessment or inspection.

Common exam traps

  • Diagnosing asbestos by sight
  • Treating no records as no hazard
  • Confusing flood map status with flood history
  • Remediating without qualified advice

Original practice questions with detailed explanations

These questions were written for instruction and mapped to the current outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.

Question 1

A buyer asks how to find out whether a house has high radon levels. What is the best answer?

  1. A. Test the home, since radon is invisible and odorless
  2. B. Look for staining around the foundation walls
  3. C. Check whether the home was built before 1978
  4. D. Ask the seller whether anyone noticed an odor
Show answer and explanation →

Answer: A. Test the home, since radon is invisible and odorless

Radon is an invisible, odorless radioactive gas, so testing is the reliable way to assess it. The 1978 option confuses radon with the federal lead-based paint threshold, and the odor option fails because radon has no smell.

Question 2

A seller is listing a house built in 1972. Which federal requirement applies before the buyer is bound by the contract?

  1. A. A radon test paid for by the seller
  2. B. An asbestos inspection by an abatement firm
  3. C. The EPA lead pamphlet and known lead disclosures
  4. D. A flood elevation certificate for the lender
Show answer and explanation →

Answer: C. The EPA lead pamphlet and known lead disclosures

For most housing built before 1978, the seller must give the EPA pamphlet, disclose known lead-based paint information and records, include the required contract language and offer the evaluation opportunity. Radon testing and asbestos inspection are sensible in some cases, but neither is a federal resale requirement.

Question 3

A house sits outside the FEMA special flood hazard area, but the seller knows the basement flooded twice last year. What should the listing agent do?

  1. A. Say nothing, since the map shows lower risk
  2. B. Disclose only if the lender requires flood insurance
  3. C. Tell buyers to rely on the FEMA map designation
  4. D. Disclose the known flooding as a material fact
Show answer and explanation →

Answer: D. Disclose the known flooding as a material fact

A FEMA map label informs insurance and risk, but it does not replace disclosure of a property's known flood history. Relying on the map is the most plausible mistake because the designation sounds official.

Ready to move on?

You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.

  • Explain Environmental Hazards and Disclosure in one clear answer without notes.
  • Separate Lead-based paint from Radon and asbestos using a fresh example.
  • Apply the decision rule to a new fact pattern and name the fact that controls the result.
  • State the Georgia-specific point or explain why the national rule applies unchanged.
  • Answer every practice question and explain the rule each rejected option misapplies.
  • Revisit this topic later in mixed practice without category labels.

Recommended next lesson

Continue with Material Facts, Defects, Misrepresentation, and Fraud. Material Facts, Defects, Misrepresentation, and Fraud gives you the framework behind these hazard calls: what makes a known fact like past flooding material, how latent and patent defects differ, and why as-is language never excuses concealment.

Return to the Property Disclosures hub to see every official branch and the complete lesson sequence for this content area.

Environmental Hazards and Disclosure questions

Facts checked against the current PSI Candidate Information Bulletin and GREC sources. Editorial standards.

Is Environmental Hazards and Disclosure on the Georgia real estate exam?

Yes. It belongs to PSI's Property Disclosures content area, which is 7% of the 100-question national portion. PSI publishes content-area weights, not a guaranteed question count for this individual lesson.

What is the main rule for Environmental Hazards and Disclosure?

Match the hazard to the official disclosure, testing, records, and specialist pathway instead of guessing from appearance.

What Georgia-specific distinction should I remember?

Federal lead requirements apply in Georgia to covered housing. Georgia transactions also require attention to known material adverse facts, actual flood history, private reports, and local or agency controls beyond a map label.