&gt; ...the pragmatic answer is to maintain deniability, make it as safe as possible and get out if necessary.<p>Seriously? Pragmatic, yes. But am I reading you correctly? It sounds like your suggestion is to simply sell the house to someone without telling them about the mercury, exposing them to danger, and then prepare to lie about knowing it was there if they do discover it (hopefully not the hard way) and come after you.<p>I mean, nice to make it &quot;as safe as possible,&quot; I guess, but you still seem prepared to expose people to conditions that are, nonetheless, totally unsafe in order to get out of paying to fix the problem. (Not to mention the fact that now <i>they</i> have to pay to fix the problem.)