Radon Gas

Looking for a new home? Time was when termites were the only threat that had to be checked out. Now, however, lenders in different parts of the country are insisting that buyers ascertain seismic safety as well as the possibility of environmental pollutants. Spills, leaks, seepage and general human sloppiness account for too much of what makes contemporary life unsafe. It almost comes as a relief to deal with an environmental threat that isn't anybody's fault.

The frantic calls began as soon as Shirley Tocchini reported for work at a state Department of Health Services office in Berkeley. By the hundreds, residents throughout the state had dropped their morning newspapers and run for the telephone. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the surgeon general's office had warned that radon--a naturally occurring radioactive gas that causes lung cancer--was far more widespread than previously thought. With the announcement Sept.

They come hobbling on crutches. Others are in wheelchairs. Most walk without assistance. All share a common quest. They are in search of a medical miracle that they are told lies within the depths of old uranium mines--a natural radioactive gas with such curative powers that the crippled are said to walk and the blind made to see. "I was in bed three months and couldn't move.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the surgeon general's office issued an unprecedented advisory Monday urging virtually every homeowner in the country to test their houses for the presence of radioactive radon gas. They said that based on the latest federal survey of 11,000 homes in seven states and a 10-state survey last year, radon is far more widespread than previously thought and present in dangerous concentrations in a significant percentage of homes.

Radon, a radioactive gas that seeps up from the soil and is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, is likely to exceed recommended limits in about 50,000 homes in Southern California, a yearlong study by The Times has concluded. The 50,000 homes account for 1.2% of the households in the five-county region surveyed, strongly suggesting that Southern California is not confronted with nearly as extensive a radon problem as has been portrayed nationally.

High levels of radon--a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer--have been found in Santa Barbara--the first time widespread amounts of the gas have been discovered in a California residential neighborhood, state Health Director Kenneth Kizer said Wednesday. Isolated cases of high radon levels have been found in some California neighborhoods, but this is the first time a "hot spot" has been found in the state, Kizer said.

Pending further study, customers of Pardee Construction Co. will no longer be required to sign a controversial radon disclaimer form that prohibits buyers from testing for the cancer-causing gas before a sale is completed, an official for the developer said. The firm's senior vice president, David Lyman, said Pardee is undertaking a "complete review of its policy" affecting company developments in the Antelope Valley and in Ventura, Riverside and San Diego counties.

The Army has announced it will follow the lead of the Air Force and begin testing buildings on its bases for the natural radioactive gas radon. The Army reported Friday that tests will begin with "day-care centers, hospitals, schools and living areas." Radon is a colorless, odorless natural product of decaying uranium in the soil. Research has indicated that exposure to high levels of radon may increase the risk of lung cancer.