County Testing and Mitigation Recommendations
Should you test your indoor air for radon? Should you test your private well water for radionuclides?
Below is a list of all 100 counties and the suggested actions for those living in those counties.
Click on the "Find Your County" TAB below for a county and find out the answer to these questions.
The other two TABs provided information on the two increased risks to:
- children, and
- those exposed to secondhand smoke and/or current or former smokers.
If you need to test your INDOOR AIR for radon, you may find more information on the testing page.
If you need to test your PRIVATE WELL WATER for
- Radon: Consider ordering a radon test kit.
- Other Radionuclides: Find a certified laboratory.
Risk Information and Action Guidance
Do I need to test my air and or private well water?
Find a fact sheet in a PDF format that has more information, including a geological image, for your county as well as guidance on testing.
Alamance (Test Indoor Air)
Alexander (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Alleghany (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Anson (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Ashe (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Avery (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Beaufort (Test Indoor Air)
Bertie (Test Indoor Air)
Bladen (Test Indoor Air)
Brunswick (Test Indoor Air)
Buncombe (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Burke (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Cabarrus (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Caldwell (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Camden (Test Indoor Air)
Carteret (Test Indoor Air)
Caswell (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Catawba (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Chatham (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Cherokee (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Chowan (Test Indoor Air)
Clay (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Cleveland (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Columbus (Test Indoor Air)
Craven (Test Indoor Air)
Cumberland (Test Indoor Air)
Currituck (Test Indoor Air)
Dare (Test Indoor Air)
Davidson (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Davie (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Duplin (Test Indoor Air)
Durham (Test Indoor Air)
Edgecombe (Test Indoor Air)
Forsyth (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Franklin (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Gaston (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Gates (Test Indoor Air)
Graham (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Granville (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Greene (Test Indoor Air)
Guilford (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Halifax (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Harnett (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Haywood (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Henderson (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Hertford (Test Indoor Air)
Hoke (Test Indoor Air)
Hyde (Test Indoor Air)
Iredell (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Jackson (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Johnston (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Jones (Test Indoor Air)
Lee (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Lenoir (Test Indoor Air)
Lincoln (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Macon (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Madison (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Martin (Test Indoor Air)
McDowell (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Mecklenburg (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Mitchell (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Montgomery (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Moore (Test Indoor Air)
Nash (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
New Hanover (Test Indoor Air)
Northampton (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Onslow (Test Indoor Air)
Orange (Test Indoor Air)
Pamlico (Test Indoor Air)
Pasquotank (Test Indoor Air)
Pender (Test Indoor Air)
Perquimans (Test Indoor Air)
Person (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Pitt (Test Indoor Air)
Polk (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Randolph (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Richmond (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Robeson (Test Indoor Air)
Rockingham (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Rowan (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Rutherford (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Sampson (Test Indoor Air)
Scotland (Test Indoor Air)
Stanly (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Stokes (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Surry (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Swain (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Transylvania (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Tyrrell (Test Indoor Air)
Union (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Vance (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Wake (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Warren (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Washington (Test Indoor Air)
Watauga (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Wayne (Test Indoor Air)
Wilkes (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Wilson (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Yadkin (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Yancey (Test Indoor Air and Private Well Water)
Children
The CDC reports that children are twice as likely to be affected by breathing in radon than adults. Additionally, if children are exposed to tobacco smoke and elevated radon levels, their risk of developing lung cancer increases at least 20 times.
While breathing in radon alone can cause lung cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that people who used to smoke or currently smoke and are exposed to radon are 25 times more likely to get lung cancer.
Radon In Indoor Air
For questions about your indoor air radon test, please email either phillip.gibson@dhhs.nc.gov or catherine.rosfjord@dhhs.nc.gov. This will connect you to the NC Radon Program, Radiation Protection Section, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Radionuclides In Private Well Water
For questions about radionuclides in private well water, please call 919-707-5900. This will connect you to the Division of Public Health, Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Interactive Geological Map
The North Carolina Geological Survey has created an interactive map for those wanting to explore the geological formations in each county that contribute to increased radon, uranium and other radionuclides.
Radon is a gas that is naturally present in rocks and soil in North Carolina. It is created when uranium in the ground decays. Some building materials can also have uranium, and the only way to know if radon is being released indoors is by testing the air. Radon itself cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted.
The rock and soil underground is different throughout North Carolina. Certain counties in North Carolina have a geology that is more likely to contain radionuclides. Private well water may flow through the radionuclides and transported to your home.
Owners of buildings built with certain materials, such as large buildings and mid-high-rise condominiums, should consider testing the indoor radon level. The CDC reports that "any buildings built with sandstone, concrete, brick, natural stone, gypsum, and granite contain naturally occurring radioactive elements like radium, uranium, and thorium." The only way to know if these materials increase indoor radon levels is by testing for radon.
Testing Indoor Air
All buildings have the potential to have elevated levels of radon in the air. For more information, go to the U.S. EPA's website.
Testing Private Well Water
It is important to test the air in your home, apartment, or commercial building for radon every two years. Radon is a gas that can be harmful and cause lung cancer if it builds up in your indoor air.
If your indoor air radon level is between 2 and 3.9 picoCuries per liter, the NC Radon Program recommends you consider hiring a certified radon professional. They can install a system that will lower the radon level and make your air safer to breathe.
If your indoor air radon level is equal to or higher than 4.0 picoCuries per liter, the NC Radon Program strongly recommends that you hire a certified radon professional. They can install a system that will lower the radon level and make your air much safer to breathe.
For more information, go to the NC Radon Program website.