Short-term kit
RA400 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Desha County, Arkansas
EPA puts Desha County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Nearest county
6.8%
Pulaski County, 88 miles
- Pulaski
- 6.8%
- Arkansas
- 22.7%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 103 tests, 2007 to 2016
Ground above low
None
21.3 pts below Arkansas
- Desha
- 0.0%
- Arkansas
- 21.3%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
0
None published
A home here needs its own test
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 Desha County
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
Desha County, At a glance
Desha County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential
USGS geologic potential: Low across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
No CDC test figures here
CDC has published no radon test figures for Desha County. Pulaski County, 88 miles away, is the nearest county with a figure over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals.
Desha County, Compared
Desha County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's county radon counts over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals cover 60 Arkansas counties, and Desha County is not among them: no year's figure and no ten-year laboratory total names it. Pooled across 60 Arkansas counties, 22.7% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 35.8%.
The nearest counties with a figure are Pulaski County (88 miles away) at 6.8%, Saline County (99 miles away) at 31.9% and Garland County (120 miles away) at 45.8%. Statewide for the same period, Garland County reported the highest share (45.8%) and Pulaski County the lowest (6.8%).
EPA's 1993 map puts Desha County in Zone 3, its lowest label: a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land low radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Desha County, Geology
The ground under Desha County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Desha County's mapped land in one class: low radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Mississippi Alluvial Plain, to which USGS gives a radon index of 8, in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi Alluvial Plain | Alluvial sand, silt, gravel, and clay. | Low | 8 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Desha County beside the ground around it
Across Arkansas 21.3% of the land is rated moderate; none of Desha County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, 1 has more moderate-potential ground, Phillips County the most at 3.2%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Desha County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Desha County
- Arkansas's radon programArkansas Department of HealthArkansas's radon program answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules in Arkansas.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 Arkansas directoryNo professionals are listed in Arkansas yet. The state program can point you to registered testers and mitigators.
What Arkansas's program says
- Phone
- 501-661-2621
- ADH.EPI.Radon@arkansas.gov
What it means
Desha County, Questions
Questions about radon in Desha County
Are radon levels high in Desha County?
No CDC testing statistics are published here for Desha County, Arkansas yet. Of the 5 nearest counties with a figure, within 242 miles, the share of tests at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 6.8% to 45.8%.
Which counties border Desha County?
Desha County borders 6 counties: Lincoln County, AR, Bolivar County, MS, Drew County, AR, Arkansas County, AR, Chicot County, AR and Phillips County, AR.
Products
Desha County, Products
Testing a home in Desha County
No CDC figure names Desha County; the nearest county with one, Pulaski County (88 miles away), reported 6.8% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals, 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 Desha County.
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
Hello Radon C battery radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Screen
Method: Alpha spectrometry
First reading: Within 24 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Desha County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Desha County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Drew County, AREPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.1 pCi/L · 1 test
- Radon levels in Arkansas County, AREPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.3 pCi/L · 1 test
- Radon levels in Phillips County, AREPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.1 pCi/L · 1 test
- Radon levels in Lincoln County, AREPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2007 to 2016; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
- Radon levels in Bolivar County, MSEPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2007 to 2016; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
- Radon levels in Chicot County, AREPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2007 to 2016; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
Desha County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Desha County
Desha County has been losing residents: from 11,319 in 2020 to 9,984 on July 1, 2025, a fall of 11.8% by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 13 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Dumas, has 3,476 residents, 34.8% of the total. CDC publishes no radon test count for Desha County; across Arkansas its counts for 2007 to 2016 come to 0.2 tests for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate).
From Dumas to Reed, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Desha County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dumas | 3,476 | −12.5% | 34.8% |
| McGehee | 3,389 | −11.9% | 33.9% |
| Arkansas City | 336 | −11.1% | 3.4% |
| Mitchellville | 258 | −10.4% | 2.6% |
| Tillarextends beyond Desha County | 160 | −5.3% | Counted whole |
| Watson | 160 | −12.1% | 1.6% |
| Reed | 113 | −10.3% | 1.1% |
7 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). A place that extends beyond Desha County is counted whole, so it has no share.
Desha County, Homes
Homes in Desha County
Of Desha County's 5,812 homes, 73% are detached houses, against 70% across Arkansas; 11% are mobile homes. The homes are older than Arkansas' as a whole: half were built before 1976 (1987 for Arkansas), and 22% date from before 1960. 61% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Arkansas: 66%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Desha County | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 5,812 | 1,382,664 |
| Detached houses | 73% | 70% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 6% | 10% |
| Mobile homes | 11% | 11% |
| Built before 1960 | 22% | 14% |
| Built since 2000 | 15% | 28% |
| Middle year built | 1976 | 1987 |
| Owner-occupied | 61% | 66% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.