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 Pope County, Illinois
EPA puts Pope County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 3 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2017). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Highest bordering
20.7%
Saline County
- Saline
- 20.7%
- Williamson
- 13.3%
4 of 6 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2008 to 2017
Nearest county
15.2%
Massac County, 16 miles
- Massac
- 15.2%
- Illinois
- 43.1%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 33 tests, 2008 to 2017
Ground above low
97.2%
1.8 pts below Illinois
- Pope
- 97.2%
- Illinois
- 99.1%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
8
Too few for a share
- Pope
- 8
- Needed
- 30
2007 to 2016, laboratory
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Read a result for Pope 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
Pope County, At a glance
Pope County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Pope County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 97% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Pope County, 2017
CDC holds 3 reported tests for Pope County in 2017, with a median of 0.4 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Pope County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 3 tests were reported to CDC for Pope County over 2017, and tests are often run on homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: so few describe neither the county nor this house.
Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2017. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Pope County, Compared
Pope County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Pope County rests on 8 tests over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals, 0 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 12.5 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 2.8 pCi/L, with a middle value of 1.8 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 4 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Saline County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 20.7%, and Williamson County the smallest, 13.3%, with Massac County at 15.2% and Johnson County at 14.6% between. Farther out, Union County (38 miles away) at 25.3%, Franklin County (45 miles away) at 19.6% and Hamilton County (46 miles away) at 23.3% have figures too. Pooled across 102 Illinois counties, 43.1% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 35.7%.
Statewide for the same period, Stark County reported the highest share (80.5%) and Williamson County the lowest (13.3%). EPA's 1993 map puts Pope County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 97% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Pope County, Geology
The ground under Pope County
PredictedMost of the ground under Pope County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 97.2% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 2.8% low. 97.0% of it lies in the area the map calls Shawnee Hills Section, to which USGS gives a radon index of 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee Hills Section | Unglaciated Ordovician to Pennsylvanian limestone, sandstone, and shale. | Moderate | 10 | 97.0% |
| Coastal Plain Province | Cretaceous marine sediments and Quaternary alluvium. | Low | 8 | 2.8% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Pope County beside the ground around it
Across Illinois 64.5% of the land is rated high; none of Pope County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, 4 have more moderate-potential ground, Hardin County the most at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Pope County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Pope County
- IEMA-OHS Radon ProgramIEMA-OHS Radon Program, run by Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security, licenses or certifies radon professionals and states the rule for disclosing radon when a home is sold, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Illinois.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
- Professionals in Illinois339 professionals are listed in Illinois.
What Illinois's program says
- Phone
- (800) 325-1245
- Licensing of radon professionals
The Agency also licenses and regulates the individuals who provide radon measurement and mitigation to the public.
- Disclosure when a home is sold or rented
Illinois Radon Awareness Act - This is the legislation that requires the seller to provide to the buyer of any interest in residential real property the IEMA-OHS pamphlet entitled "Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions" and the Illinois Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards.
What it means
Pope County, Questions
Questions about radon in Pope County
Are radon levels high in Pope County?
In 2017, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Pope County, Illinois were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 0.4 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 4 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Saline County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 20.7%, and Williamson County the smallest, 13.3%, with Massac County at 15.2% and Johnson County at 14.6% between.
Which counties border Pope County?
Pope County borders 6 counties: Massac County, IL, Livingston County, KY, Johnson County, IL, Hardin County, IL, Saline County, IL and Williamson County, IL.
Products
Pope County, Products
Testing a home in Pope County
No CDC figure names Pope County; the nearest county with one, Massac County (16 miles away), reported 15.2% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, the only reading nearby until a test of this home. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Pope County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
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
RadonPro Wi-Fi radon monitor with a built-in Geiger counter
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Plug-in
- Wi-Fi
- Alarm
- Screen, app
First reading: Within 5 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Pope County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Pope County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Hardin County, ILEPA zone 2
22.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.4 pCi/L · 9 tests
- Radon levels in Saline County, ILEPA zone 2
20.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.7 pCi/L · 82 tests
- Radon levels in Massac County, ILEPA zone 3
15.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 33 tests
- Radon levels in Johnson County, ILEPA zone 2
14.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.8 pCi/L · 48 tests
- Radon levels in Williamson County, ILEPA zone 2
13.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.3 pCi/L · 601 tests
- Radon levels in Livingston County, KYEPA zone 2
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.3 pCi/L · 11 tests
Pope County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Pope County
About 3,672 people live in Pope County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 83 fewer than in 2020 (−2.2%). Spread over its land, that is 10.0 people to the square mile. No town dominates: Golconda, the largest, has 618 residents, 16.8% of the total. Together its 2 incorporated places hold 19.4% of those residents; the other 80.6% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 8 tests over 2007 to 2016, or 2.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Illinois as a whole comes to 8.3.
From Golconda to Eddyville, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Pope County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golconda | 618 | −2.7% | 16.8% |
| Eddyville | 96 | −2.0% | 2.6% |
2 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).
Pope County, Homes
Homes in Pope County
Of Pope County's 2,273 homes, 73% are detached houses, against 58% across Illinois; 23% are mobile homes. Much of Pope County is recent building: 28% of its homes have gone up since 2000 and the middle year built is 1989, against 1970 for Illinois. Owners live in 86% of the occupied homes (Illinois: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Pope County | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 2,273 | 5,443,501 |
| Detached houses | 73% | 58% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 1% | 22% |
| Mobile homes | 23% | 2% |
| Built before 1960 | 19% | 38% |
| Built since 2000 | 28% | 16% |
| Middle year built | 1989 | 1970 |
| Owner-occupied | 86% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.