NC Radon Data

Radon Map

The following map shows the highest level of radon measured in each county. Data for this map was obtained from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention Environmental Public Health Tracking Network website:

  • Red shade: A county with at least one radon building test that measured at or above 4 picoCuries per Liter of air
  • Orange shade: A county with at least one radon building test that measured between 2 to 3.9 picoCuries per Liter of air
  • Grey shade: A county with at least one radon building test that measured at or below 1.9 picoCuries per Liter of air

 

NOTE:  Radon data should not be used to predict whether a particular building or site will have elevated radon levels. Radon levels are highly site specific. The only way to know the radon level in a building is to conduct a radon test.

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Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Data

Tab/Accordion Items

2015 BRFSS Data Set - Do you know what radon gas is?

  • 18.8% of Black Males surveyed replied yes
  • 18% of Black Females surveyed replied yes
  • 30.4% White males surveyed replied yes
  • 27% of White females surveyed replied yes
  • 13.8% of Hispanics surveyed replied yes

2019 BRFSS Data Set - Do you know what radon gas is?

  • 36.5% of Black Males surveyed replied yes
  • 38.1% of Black Females surveyed replied yes
  • 70.9% of White males surveyed replied yes
  • 60.4% of White females surveyed replied yes
  • 14% of Hispanics surveyed replied yes

Own v. Rent Home

  • 63.1% of those who own their home replied yes
  • 31.5% of those who rent their home replied yes

Income Level

  • 26.2% of those with an annual income of $15,000 or less replied yes
  • 33.3% of those with an annual income of $15,000 to $24,999 replied yes
  • 47.9% of those with an annual income of $25,000 to $34,999 replied yes
  • 53.3% of those with an annual income of $35,000 to $49,999 replied yes
  • 60.8% of those with an annual income of $50,000 to $74,999 replied yes
  • 73.7% of those with an annual income of $75,000 or more replied yes

BRFSS Data: Have you tested your home for radon? Responses from Current Smokers in 2015 and 2019

Data collected by the North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System reports that in both 2015 and 2019 only 20.1 percent of current smokers surveyed have tested their homes for radon. 

https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/brfss/2015/nc/risk/radontst.html

https://schs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/data/brfss/2019/nc/risk/radontst.html

Radon In NC Schools Testing Data 1989-1993

Tab/Accordion Items

NC School Radon Data Set

Based on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) conclusion that ". . . Schools may be a significant source of radon exposure for children and staff . . ." The Environmental Team of NC Radiation Protection Program (NCRP) conducted a pilot radon survey in 20 North Carolina schools during the summer of 1989 and again in the winter of 1990. The results of 400 measurements indicate that the radon levels in school classrooms are similar to regional radon levels found in residential surveys.

EPA has a specific testing strategy for schools If you test a school for radon you should follow these guidelines: test all frequently used rooms on and below the ground level - Because radon levels in schools have been found to vary significantly from room to room; test all frequently-occupied rooms in contact with the ground; and conduct tests in the cooler months of the year.

In 1990 and 1991, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) assisted many schools in North Carolina with purchasing radon canisters for the purpose of measuring classrooms in individual schools. However, test results were never compiled statewide by DPI. Individual schools' test results were retained by each school.

In 1997, North Carolina Radiation Protection (NCRP) retrieved most of the survey data from this previous project. In the spring of 1998, NCRP assisted with radon testing in an additional 35 school districts which had no test data. Five schools per district were tested.

Currently, survey data has been compiled from 1,102 schools, with 23,448 classrooms tested in 94 counties (at least one school per county) out of 100 counties in North Carolina.

The average radon level tested is: 1.79 pCi/l.

Based on NCRP analysis, approximately 11% of these tested classrooms had radon concentrations greater than 4 pCi/l.

Following is a summary of the data collected from those schools.

State County # Shools Tested # Rooms Tested # of Rooms >4 pCi/l Minimum Level Recorded at a School Maximum Level Recorded at a School County Radon Average County Radon Median
NC Almance 3 44 7 0 9.5 1.6 0.8
NC Alexander 10 50 1 0.3 4.5 1.5 1.4
NC Alleghany 4 99 13 0 7.4 1.8 1.1
NC Anson 1 4 0 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6
NC Ashe 8 289 10 0 7 1.3 0.9
NC Avery 9 45 2 0.3 5.9 1 0.6
NC Beaufort 16 314 2 0 4.7 0.8 0.5
NC Bertie No data No data No data No data No data No data No data
NC Bladen 11 44 0 0 2.4 0.7 0.6
NC Brunswick 11 10 0 0 0.3 0.2 0
NC Buncombe 43 1788 188 0.2 22.2 1.8 1
NC Burke 26 435 9 0 7.4 1.2 1
NC Cabarrus 14 75 0 0 2.9 0.9 0.8
NC Caldwell 24 786 171 0 15.3 2.4 1.8
NC Camden 3 18 0 0.2 2.5 1  
NC Cateret No data No data No data No data No data No data No data
NC Caswell 8 80 41 0 64.1 6.8 4.2
NC Catawba 43 1645 238 0 16.8 2 1.4
NC Chatham 14 520 7 0 7.8 0.9 0.6
NC Cherokee 12 43 0 0.3 2.4 1.1 0.9
NC Chowan 4 19 0 0.3 1.6 0.6 0.6
NC Clay 1 20 3 0.5 5.4 2 1.5
NC Cleveland 16 93 16 0.3 18 2.3 1.4
NC Columbus 19 71 1 0 4.4 0.6 0.3
NC Craven 5 24 0 0.3 1.1 0.5 0.3
NC Cumberland 67 2456 117 0 10.1 1.2 0.8
NC Currituck 5 25 0 0.3 1.3 0.4 0.3
NC Dare No data No data No data No data No data No data No data
NC Davidson 38 38 0 0.3 3.8 1.3 0.9
NC Davie 12 210 44 0 26.8 2.9 2.2
NC Duplin 2 292 5 0 6.2 0.8 0.6
NC Durham 13 35 1 0 9.3 0.5 0
NC Edgecombe 6 250 33 0 10 1.7 1.3
NC Forsyth 49 2348 444 0 105 2.9 1.8
NC Franklin 5 25 1 0.3 4.2 1.9 1.9
NC Gaston 55 1803 123 0 17.7 1.5 1.1
NC Gates 6 138 0 0.2 1.8 0.5 0.3
NC Graham 2 39 13 0 15 2.9 0.6
NC Granville 5 25 0 0.3 3.7 1.1 0.7
NC Greene 6 142 0 0 3.9 0.7 0.5
NC Guilford 15 155 1 0 5.6 0.6 0.4
NC Halifax 9 160 6 0 11.1 1.4 1.3
NC Harnett 20 88 0 0.3 4 0.8 0.5
NC Haywood 14 51 0 0.3 3.4 1.1 0.8
NC Henderson 4 100 16 0 7.8 1.9 1.5
NC Hertford 7 262 0 0 3 0.4 0.2
NC Hoke 7 347 0 0.2 3 0.9 1
NC Hyde No data No data No data No data No data No data No data
NC Iredell 27 245 15 0 11.9 1.5 1.2
NC Jackson 6 30 0 0.3 2.8 0.9 0.7
NC Johnson 28 949 1 0.3 4.1 1.2 0.3
NC Jones 3 35 4 0 6.4 1.3 0.5
NC Lee 5 25 0 0.3 1.4 0.6 0.5
NC Lenoir 18 274 8 0 23.5 1.2 0.9
NC Lincoln 1 99 42 0.3 66.5 6.2 2.5
NC Macon 11 82 16 0.5 16.3 2.9 2.3
NC Madison 8 36 0 0.3 1.8 0.9 0.8
NC Martin 5 25 0 0.3 1.9 0.6 0.6
NC Mcdowell 13 725 253 0 32.9 3.9 2.5
NC Mecklenburg 1 54 4 0 6.6 1.1 0.9
NC Mitchell 7 35 0 0.3 1.6 0.5 0.3
NC Montgomery 8 129 14 0 9.2 1.1 0
NC Moore 6 25 0 0.3 2.8 0.9 0.7
NC Nash 6 31 0 0.3 3.6 1.1 0.8
NC New Hanover 5 24 0 0.3 0.8 0.4 0.3
NC Northampton 4 62 3 0 6.6 1.5 1.4
NC Onslow 1 19 0 0 3.6 0.9 0.8
NC Orange 13 378 60 0 14.3 1.8 0.8
NC Pamlico 3 20 0 0.3 0.8 0.4 0.3
NC Pasquotank 1 20 0 0 0.7 0.1 0
NC Pender 5 25 0 0.3 1.1 0.4 0.3
NC Perquimans 4 40 0 0 1.8 0.6 0.6
NC Persons 8 32 0 0.6 3.2 0.8 0.6
NC Pitt 4 21 No data No data No data No data No data
NC Polk No data No data No data No data No data No data No data
NC Randolph 14 274 10 0 7.8 1.2 0.9
NC Richmond 5 25 0 0.3 2 0.8 0.6
NC Robeson 1 12 0 0 2.8 1.3 1.3
NC Rockingham 21 475 58 0 21.6 2 1.2
NC Rowan 28 179 18 0 26.5 2.1 1.5
NC Rutherford 5 25 0 0.3 2.7 1.1 1
NC Sampson 11 72 1 0 4.9 0.9 0.5
NC Scotland 1 79 0 0.3 3.9 1 0.9
NC Stanly 5 25 0 0.3 2.6 0.9 0.8
NC Stokes 15 211 42 0 11.4 2.3 1.6
NC Surry 13 154 68 0 13.1 4.3 3.3
NC Swain 4 24 1 0.3 5.7 1.2 1.1
NC Transylvania 11 271 38 0 15.1 2.3 1.8
NC Tyrrell 1 54 2 0.3 7.9 0.7 0.3
NC Union 4 153 3 0 13.7 1 0.7
NC Vance 16 425 36 0 13.2 1.3 0.4
NC Wake 18 323 19 0 12.4 1.5 1.1
NC Warren 1 38 8 0.7 48.4 4.9 1.3
NC Washington 5 25 0 0.3 1.6 0.7 0.6
NC Watauga 9 44 3 0.3 10.4 1.6 1.1
NC Wayne 26 178 0 0.5 2.9 1 0.8
NC Wilkes 19 786 163 0 11.6 2.1 1.2
NC Wilson 1 20 0 0 2.2 1 1
NC Yadkin 14 385 97 0 23.6 3.1 2.1
NC Yancey 10 286 7 0 7.9 1.1 0.8

 

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