County officials are testing the Veterans Memorial Building for radon after the potentially lethal gas was found there less than a year ago, county officials confirmed Monday.

Officials said the Santa Maria firm Tetra Tech has conducted carbon-canister tests in a county agriculture office and in the basement, both in the building's east wing.

One source familiar with the testing said the first round of testing, earlier this spring, recorded 4.6 picoCuries per litre, which is considered a high level.

According to Internet sources, a common radon test uses canisters filled with charcoal that are left in rooms. They charcoal collects radon atoms, which are then studied to determine the level of radon gas that is present.

Connie Smith, who manages the veterans building for Santa Barbara County government, said Monday she expects canisters from a second round of testing to be analyzed and results forthcoming soon.

The east wing of the veterans building has several offices that are used for meetings by several veterans groups. The basement holds a bar that is run by one of the veterans groups. Other areas of the building are used for community and private events.

The annual Alpha Club Flower Show was held in the main ballroom in the center of the building on Saturday and Sunday.

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It was unclear what initiated the radon testing; Tetra Tech referred questions to the county.

“I don't know why the testing was initiated, but I know we're doing this just as good business practice,” Smith said.

The agricultural commissioner's office has vacated temporarily because of the testing, said Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Joe Karl.

Radon gas can be mitigated through fanning and increased ventilation, but it was unclear whether that is being done at the veterans building.

Radon is a gas from decaying radium that seeps from the ground and may collect inside a single room of a building. Levels may vary from house to house, building to building.

Long-term exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that radon causes 21,000 lung cancer deaths in the United States each year - more then the annual total of drunk driving related deaths.

Stacy Lawson, a city community development official who is familiar with a state study on Radon conducted in Lompoc nearly a decade ago, said Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties have the “highest levels of Radon west of the Mississippi.”

A 1998 study conducted by the city, the state radon association and the American Lung Association examined 50 Lompoc homes and found most had unacceptable levels of radon.

A subsequent study showed that out of 286 homes tested in Lompoc, 101 had greater than the EPA standards.

Severe health risks arise from long-term exposure, Lawson said.

Neil Nisperos can be reached

at 737-1059 or nnisperos@santa

mariatimes.com.

June 26, 2007