The Nation : Home Radon Checks Set

Thousands of homes across the United States will be checked next year for indoor levels of radon, a radioactive gas linked to lung cancer, federal scientists said. The random sample will be designed to give a national profile. The Environmental Protection Agency study will include most if not all states, said Richard Guimond, director of the criteria and standards division of the EPA’s office of radiation programs. The study, to begin by mid-1987, will run for two years. Radon is a colorless, odorless gas emitted by radium in the earth. It deteriorates into tiny radioactive particles that can settle in lung tissue and lead to lung cancer.