An island community in the San Francisco Bay in California will be tested for radiation by the United States Navy, officials said this week, after an object containing radium was found there following the closure of a long-active military base.

The Navy said on Tuesday that they will soon begin testing roughly 600 homes on “Treasure Island,” a 400-acre man-made community of around 1,500 people that was created in the 1930s to host the San Francisco World’s Fair.

A decade later, the Treasure Island Naval Station was opened and remained in operation until 1997. It has since undergone extensive redevelopment, and city officials in San Francisco plan to put around 8,000 new residences there, Reuters reported this week.

First, however, the existing homes on Treasure Island will be tested "due to a recent radiological finding beneath an (empty) housing unit,” according to an official statement from the Navy released this week.

The Navy has previously attested to the safety of the island, and even in Monday’s statement again insisted that there are “no known health hazards” there. A positive finding recently has elevated concerns, however, and officials say they want to do a reevaluation of the island as a precautionary measure.

"The Navy cares about the people who live and work on Treasure Island and is committing to protecting human health and the environment," Keith Foreman, the Navy's base realignment and closure environmental coordinator, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

FULL STORY: http://rt.com/usa/treasure-island-radiation-testing-477/