Test your home for radon
Radon is invisible and odorless, so a simple test is the only way to know your level. Fix it at 4 pCi/L or higher.
- How often
- As needed
- Time
- A few days
- Recommended for
- 37 factors
How to do it
- Buy a test kit from a home improvement store or online, or order a discounted kit through the National Radon Program Services. Some states offer free or discounted kits.
- Follow the packaging directions for where to place the test and where to send it.
- If the result is 4 pCi/L or higher, have your home fixed. Consider fixing it between 2 and 4 pCi/L.
- Use a certified radon mitigation professional. Your state radon program can point you to one.
- Test again if you move to a new home.
Why it helps
Radon is a radioactive gas that seeps up from the ground into homes. It is the leading cause of lung cancer in people who have never smoked and the second leading cause overall. EPA estimates about 21,000 radon-related lung cancer deaths a year. EPA says all homes should be tested.
Be careful
Smoking and radon together multiply lung cancer risk. If you smoke and your radon is high, fixing both matters.
Recommended for
Alabama
Long, humid summers, strong sun, and ticks most of the year.
placeColorado
Thin air, stronger sun, high-radon soil and summer smoke.
placeConnecticut
The town Lyme disease is named for, plus short winter days.
placeGeorgia
Humid heat, strong sun, southern ticks and radon around Atlanta.
placeIdaho
Mountain radon, smoky summers, cold winters and weak winter sun.
placeIllinois
High-radon soil, dark winters, cold snaps and deadly summer heat waves.
placeIndiana
High-radon soil, gray winters, humid summers and a lot of private wells.
placeIowa
Every county is high-radon country, and farm-country wells need testing.
placeKansas
High-radon soil, hard summer heat and ticks in the grass.
placeKentucky
Alpha-gal tick country with radon pockets and muggy summers.
placeMaine
One of the highest Lyme rates in the US, plus radon and arsenic in wells.
placeMaryland
High-Lyme suburbs, radon in the central counties and humid summers.
placeMassachusetts
Lyme country, cold winters and the original vitamin D winter study.
placeMichigan
Long gray winters, lake-effect cold and arsenic in some wells.
placeMinnesota
Deep cold, dark winters, high radon, Lyme ticks and arsenic in wells.
placeMissouri
Tick hot spot of the Midwest, with hot summers and radon near Kansas City.
placeMontana
High-radon ground, smoky summers, bitter winters and a short winter sun.
placeNebraska
Radon under the house, mosquitoes in late summer, deep cold in winter.
placeNevada
Desert heat, high-elevation sun, and a soil fungus kicked up by dust.
placeNew Hampshire
Granite bedrock, tick-filled woods, and long, dark winters.
placeNew Jersey
Lyme ticks in the suburbs and radon in the northwestern hills.
placeNew Mexico
Thin air, intense sun, and well water that deserves a test.
placeNew York
Lyme country upstate and on Long Island, with long, gray winters.
placeNorth Carolina
Humid summers, spotted fever ticks, and radon in the mountains.
placeNorth Dakota
Radon in every county, brutal wind chill, and West Nile in summer.
placeOhio
High radon across much of the state and a gray, low-sun winter.
placePennsylvania
Most counties in EPA's top radon zone, and plenty of Lyme ticks.
placeRhode Island
Small state, big Lyme numbers, and radon in the south.
placeSouth Dakota
Radon in the east, West Nile in summer, and hard Plains winters.
placeTennessee
Spotted fever ticks, humid heat, and radon in Middle and East Tennessee.
placeUtah
High elevation, intense sun on snow, and winter inversions.
placeVermont
Lyme ticks in green summers, little sun and deep cold in winter.
placeVirginia
Where Lyme ticks and lone star ticks overlap, plus radon in the west.
placeWashington
Smoky late summers, dark gray winters, and radon in the northeast.
placeWest Virginia
Lyme ticks moving in, and radon in the eastern hills.
placeWisconsin
Lyme ticks in every county, nitrate in some wells, and long dark winters.
placeWyoming
High, windy, sun-blasted country with radon under nearly every county.