High Level of Radon Found in Residences : Health: Santa Barbara discovery is the first time widespread amounts of the radioactive gas have been detected in a California neighborhood.

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.

“What makes this unusual is that you had quite a number of homes showing, in some cases, very high levels,” said Sarah Miller, deputy director of the Santa Barbara County Health Care Services Department.

The state Health Department recently tested about 140 homes in the Santa Barbara area in which high radon levels were suspected. More than half exceeded EPA guidelines, and 30 showed levels five times higher than the guidelines. Most of the homes were in the foothills and in the beach community of Summerland.

Living in a home with a radon level about double the EPA guidelines is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, Kizer said. But that is based on “a lifetime of exposure of living in that house.”

“People shouldn’t be panicking about this,” Miller said. “They’d have to live in a house for decades and decades with very high levels for it to have the potential to do damage.”

And, she said, Santa Barbara residents who live in areas with high radon levels do not have higher rates of cancer, according to statistics from the county Cancer Registry.

Still, Kizer recommended that all residents in southern Santa Barbara County and northern Ventura County test their homes for radon levels.

Radon is a much more widespread problem in areas outside California. In a recent study of 34 states, California ranked third from the bottom in the severity of radon levels. By comparison, 71% of homes in Iowa and 61% in North Dakota recorded radon levels that should prompt action by the homeowner under federal health guidelines.

The danger posed by radon has been a controversial issue. Some scientists have argued that, while the dangers of the radioactive pollutant have been widely publicized, only a small percentage of homes actually are contaminated. And there has been some disagreement about the EPA guidelines on radon levels.

“Some people feel the EPA has overreacted . . . but we’re taking a conservative approach,” Kizer said. “Instead of quibbling about it, we’d rather be safe and go with the EPA standards.”

While there is some disagreement about exposure levels, there is no dispute that radon can cause lung cancer, Kizer said.