Radon Levels Exceeded in 2 Schools : 76 Other Buildings Tested OK; Results Called Reassuring

A three-month study by the Los Angeles Unified School District found two of 78 schools tested had radon levels that slightly exceeded federal minimum safety standards, district officials said Thursday.

Levels of the radioactive gas at the elementary schools--Pomelo Drive in Canoga Park and Point Fermin in San Pedro--have since been reduced, said David Koch, business services manager for the school district. He said the test results were reassuring.

“This is good news,” Koch said of the preliminary study, which tested 78 schools, half of which were in areas believed to pose the highest risk of radon contamination.

“We had no high ratings . . . we don’t seem to have any significant radon problem in Los Angeles,” Koch added.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has several categories for rating the danger level of the cancer-causing gas, which is formed by the natural decay of uranium. Radon seeps up through the earth and is not casually detectable.

For findings in the lowest category, four to 20 picocuries per liter of air, the EPA recommends further testing and reduction of levels to below four picocuries.

Koch said radon levels at Pomelo registered 5.3 picocuries per liter of air, while those at Point Fermin showed 4.4. Levels at both schools were reduced to below four by the time school opened last week through such actions as cleaning air ducts and otherwise improving circulation, he said. Testing will continue at both sites.

An additional eight schools showed levels above two picocuries, Koch said, adding that further testing has been ordered for those schools.

Noting that there are plans to take mitigating measures whenever readings of two picocuries or higher are found, Koch called the district’s approach “extremely conservative.”

The district’s study used charcoal detectors fastened to the ceilings of classrooms in the targeted schools during January, February and March, the period believed to pose the greatest exposure to radon. Schools with readings above two were retested over the weekend when classrooms were closed and chances for the gas to escape were reduced.

Koch said plans are under way to test between 100 and 200 more schools, primarily in San Pedro, Venice, Pacific Palisades and the West San Fernando Valley. The district plans to test all of its more than 600 school sites within two years.

The EPA has recommended that all schools be tested for the gas, which is the leading cause of lung cancer among people who have been exposed to high levels over a long period of time. The state Department of Health Services, however, has said there is not enough data to justify the testing of every home and school.

Nationally, high radon levels have been found with greatest frequency in parts of the East and Midwest. A radon survey by The Times last year found the risk in Southern California to be minimal.