December 12, 1985

The CSX Corporation, the nation's leading coal-hauling railroad, announced yesterday that it would take a write-off of nearly $1 billion against fourth-quarter earnings as part of a major corporate realignment program. The one-time pretax write-down will probably result in a loss for the year. CSX, which was formed through the 1980 merger of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries, earned $465 million in 1984.

Helped by a string of developments that could aid businesses for years to come, the Dow Jones industrial average demolished the stubborn 1,500 barrier yesterday in the fifth-busiest session in Wall Street history. More than 178 million shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, just a day after House and Senate conferees approved a bill intended to shrink the Federal deficit until the Government's budget is balanced by 1991. When the Government spends less, it needs to borrow less, and according to Wall Street analysts and economists, this would lead to lower interest rates in the future and better corporate profits. With that in mind, investors yesterday stampeded into the equities market, sending the Dow up 12.50 points, to a record close of 1,511.70. The blue-chip average of the stocks of 30 of the biggest United States companies had briefly exceeded the 1,500 level on several occasions in the last few weeks but never finished above it.

Twenty-four workers were exposed to small amounts of radioactive gases at the Oyster Creek nuclear power facility in southern New Jersey yesterday after electricity to a ventilation system was interrupted, the utility reported. Officials of the Jersey Central Power and Light Company, which operates the plant, said the amount of radiation released was ''minuscule'' and that there was no danger to the public or to the reactor at any time. A spokesman for the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that a small amount of contaminated gas was released into the atmosphere but that, based on information from the utility, it was ''a very small amount within our limits.''

Indicating that the Pennzoil Company wants to avoid a prolonged court fight, J. Hugh Liedtke, the company's chairman and chief executive, said today that he would consider a transfer of assets by Texaco Inc. to Pennzoil to settle the $11.1 billion judgment entered against Texaco Tuesday. ''I'm not saying for sure that we would in fact agree to it, but it certainly is something we would consider,'' Mr. Liedtke said during an interview at Pennzoil's headquarters here. He said lawyers for Pennzoil and Texaco were ''in contact'' today, but declined to provide details of the discussions. He did say, however, that shortly before the decision on Tuesday Texaco had proposed a settlement involving the sale by Texaco of oil to Pennzoil.

''Perhaps the single most pivotal factor in the commission's determination that boxing should be abolished is its investigative conclusion that not even the sturdiest of statutory controls will reduce the brutality of the sport to any significant degree.