Short-term kit
PicoCan short-term charcoal canister radon test
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska
EPA puts Northwest Arctic Borough in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 2 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2021). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Nearest county
19.4%
Fairbanks North Star Borough, 402 miles
- Fairbanks North Star Borough
- 19.4%
- Alaska
- 11.5%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 72 tests, 2022
Ground above low
93.1%
13.8 pts above Alaska
- Northwest Arctic Borough
- 93.1%
- Alaska
- 79.2%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
5
Too few for a share
- Northwest Arctic Borough
- 5
- Needed
- 30
2018
EPA radon zone
Zone 3
Lower potential
- 1
- 2
- Zone 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts under 2 pCi/L indoors
Read a result for Northwest Arctic Borough
Starts at EPA's action level
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.0 pCi/L
At or above 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is at or above 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends fixing a home when the radon level is 4 pCi/L or higher.
The data
Northwest Arctic Borough, At a glance
Northwest Arctic Borough at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 93% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Northwest Arctic Borough, 2021
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.0% |
2021: 0.0%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 0.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 2 tests were reported to CDC for Northwest Arctic Borough over 2021, and tests are often run on homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: so few describe neither the borough or census area nor this house.
Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2021. Measured data period: 2018 to 2021 (every CDC figure on file).
Northwest Arctic Borough, Compared
Northwest Arctic Borough radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Northwest Arctic Borough rests on 5 tests in 2018, 0 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 20.0 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 0.2 pCi/L, with a middle value of 0.2 pCi/L.
The nearest counties with a figure are Fairbanks North Star Borough (402 miles away) at 19.4%, Matanuska-Susitna Borough (444 miles away) at 14.3% and Anchorage Municipality (519 miles away) at 3.1%. Pooled across 19 Alaska counties, 11.5% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 23.9%.
Statewide for the same period, Fairbanks North Star Borough reported the highest share (19.4%) and Anchorage Municipality the lowest (3.1%). EPA's 1993 map puts Northwest Arctic Borough in Zone 3, its lowest label: a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 93% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Northwest Arctic Borough, Geology
The ground under Northwest Arctic Borough
PredictedMost of the ground under Northwest Arctic Borough is one class on USGS's geologic map: 93.1% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 5.5% low. The map puts 48.5% of Northwest Arctic Borough in the area it calls Central Alaska and 44.6% in Arctic Mountains (Brooks Range), with one smaller area beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 11 and the second 9, both in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Alaska | Uraniferous granites, felsic intrusives; clastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks; metamorphic, and volcanic rocks. | Moderate | 11 | 48.5% |
| Arctic Mountains (Brooks Range) | Precambrian and paleozoic marine sedimentary, metamorphic, and volcanic rocks. | Moderate | 9 | 44.6% |
| Arctic Foothills | Cretaceous sandstone and shale. | Low | 7 | 5.5% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Northwest Arctic Borough beside the ground around it
Northwest Arctic Borough has more moderate-potential ground than Alaska as a whole: 93.1% of its land against 79.2%. Of the 3 boroughs and census areas that border it, 2 have more moderate-potential ground, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area the most at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Northwest Arctic Borough, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Northwest Arctic Borough
- Alaska's radon programAlaska Division of Geological & Geophysical SurveysAlaska's radon program answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules in Alaska.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsAsk the program whether it has free or discounted kits, or compare kits you can buy.
- Compare kits
- See the Alaska directoryNo professionals are listed in Alaska yet. The state program can point you to registered testers and mitigators.
What Alaska's program says
- Phone
- 907-269-6401
- paul.goodfellow@alaska.gov
What it means
Northwest Arctic Borough, Questions
Questions about radon in Northwest Arctic Borough
Are radon levels high in Northwest Arctic Borough?
In 2021, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 0.2 pCi/L. Of the 3 nearest counties with a figure, within 519 miles, the share of tests at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 3.1% to 19.4%.
Which counties border Northwest Arctic Borough?
Northwest Arctic Borough borders 3 boroughs and census areas: Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Nome Census Area and North Slope Borough.
Products
Northwest Arctic Borough, Products
Testing a home in Northwest Arctic Borough
No CDC figure names Northwest Arctic Borough; the nearest county with one, Fairbanks North Star Borough (402 miles away), reported 19.4% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L in 2022, the only reading nearby until a test of this home. Zone 3 is the lowest label, yet homes at or above 4 pCi/L occur in every zone: a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Northwest Arctic Borough.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Long-term kit
RL416 long-term radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
Monitor
RM-65 rechargeable radon detector with a color screen and alarm
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 6 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Best radon monitors for Northwest Arctic Borough homes, compared
Explore
Northwest Arctic Borough, Bordering boroughs and census areas
Boroughs and census areas bordering Northwest Arctic Borough
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Nome Census AreaEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.9 pCi/L · 2 tests
No CDC figure for 2022; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
- Radon levels in North Slope BoroughEPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2022; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
Northwest Arctic Borough, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Northwest Arctic Borough
Northwest Arctic Borough has been losing residents: from 7,797 in 2020 to 7,095 on July 1, 2025, a fall of 9.0% by the Census Bureau's estimates. Spread over its land, that is 0.2 people to the square mile. Its largest town, Kotzebue, has 2,876 residents, 40.5% of the total. Together its 10 incorporated places hold 89.5% of those residents; the other 10.5% live outside any of them. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 5 reported tests for 2018 come to 0.7 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 0.1 for Alaska.
From Kotzebue to Deering, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Northwest Arctic Borough's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kotzebue | 2,876 | −7.2% | 40.5% |
| Selawik | 729 | −10.3% | 10.3% |
| Noorvik | 621 | −10.3% | 8.8% |
| Buckland | 496 | −10.3% | 7.0% |
| Kiana | 408 | −10.1% | 5.8% |
| Kivalina | 399 | −10.1% | 5.6% |
| Ambler | 246 | −10.2% | 3.5% |
| Shungnak | 245 | −10.3% | 3.5% |
| Kobuk | 166 | −9.8% | 2.3% |
| Deering | 161 | −10.1% | 2.3% |
10 incorporated places, as listed in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 place reference files. Residents: U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for July 1, 2025 (Vintage 2025).
Northwest Arctic Borough, Homes
Homes in Northwest Arctic Borough
Northwest Arctic Borough is a place of houses on their own lots: 80% of its 2,744 homes are detached single-family houses, against 63% across Alaska. Half of its homes were built before 1985, close to Alaska's 1985: 4% date from before 1960 and 13% from 2000 or later. 60% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Alaska: 67%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Northwest Arctic Borough | Alaska |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 2,744 | 327,610 |
| Detached houses | 80% | 63% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 10% | 12% |
| Mobile homes | 1% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 4% | 8% |
| Built since 2000 | 13% | 25% |
| Middle year built | 1985 | 1985 |
| Owner-occupied | 60% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.