Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Russell County, Kansas
EPA puts Russell County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 20 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2022). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
56.3%
24.5 pts above KS
- Russell
- 56.3%
- Kansas
- 31.8%
48 tests, 2021
Median result
4.8pCi/L
Action level reached
- Russell
- 4.8 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2021
Tests reported
48
48th of 62 by tests
- Russell
- 48
- Johnson
- 25,860
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2021
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Kansas
10 of 62
Top quarter
- Russell
- 56.3%
- Norton
- 93.8%
By share, of 62 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Russell County
Starts at Russell County's median, 4.8 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.8 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. Russell County's median reported result, 2021.
The data
Russell County, At a glance
Russell County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Russell County in
USGS geologic potential: High across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Russell County, 2022
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 68.8% |
| 2017 | 62.5% |
| 2018 | 73.1% |
| 2019 | 64.3% |
| 2020 | 50.0% |
| 2021 | 56.3% |
| 2022 | 75.0% |
2022: 75.0%. Across these years the share ran from 50.0% to 75.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 20 tests were reported to CDC for Russell County over 2022, 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: 2022. Measured data period: 2016 to 2022 (every CDC figure on file).
Russell County, Compared
Russell County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 56.3% of the 48 radon tests reported to CDC for Russell County in 2021 read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 10th of 62 Kansas counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 24.5 points above the 31.8% pooled from 96 Kansas counties.
The newest figure, in 2022, counts only 20 tests (75.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 48-test figure.
The median result, 4.8 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 13.3 pCi/L. The rest split 18.8% under 2 pCi/L and 25.0% from 2 to 4 (Kansas: 45.3% and 22.9%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 56.3% share point the same way here.
1 of its 4 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Lincoln County at 63.6%; Barton County reported 25.4%. Statewide for the same period, Norton County reported the highest share (93.8%) and Doniphan County the lowest (0.0%).
The busiest year on file was 2021, with 48 tests reported; the quietest, 2017, had 8.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 24.4%; Russell County sits 31.9 points above it.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Russell County, Geology
The ground under Russell County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Russell County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Smoky Hills, to which USGS gives a radon index of 12, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky Hills | Cretaceous marine sandstone, shale, and siltstone covered by discontinuous loess deposits. | High | 12 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Russell County beside the ground around it
Russell County has more high-potential ground than Kansas as a whole: 100% of its land against 59.9%. Of the 6 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Ellsworth County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Russell County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Russell County
- Kansas Radon ProgramKansas Radon Program answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules in Kansas.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 Kansas178 professionals are listed in Kansas.
What Kansas's program says
- Phone
- (800) 693-5343
What it means
Russell County, Questions
Questions about radon in Russell County
Are radon levels high in Russell County?
In 2022, 75.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Russell County, Kansas were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 7.5 pCi/L. Of 62 Kansas counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 9 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 31.8%.
Which counties border Russell County?
Russell County borders 6 counties: Osborne County, Ellis County, Lincoln County, Ellsworth County, Barton County and Rush County.
Products
Russell County, Products
Testing a home in Russell County
In Russell County, 56.3% of 48 tests reported to CDC in 2021 reached 4 pCi/L, against 31.8% pooled across Kansas. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Russell County is the one to know: a long-term test (more than 90 days) or a monitor, with a short-term kit for a first answer.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
MonitorAranet
Radon One battery digital radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- Alarm
- Screen, app
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
Short-term kitKidde
442020 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 3 days
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Russell County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Russell County
Explore
Russell County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Russell County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Rush CountyEPA zone 1
66.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.6 pCi/L · 18 tests · 10.4 points above Russell County
- Radon levels in Lincoln CountyEPA zone 1
63.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.5 pCi/L · 33 tests · 7.3 points above Russell County
- Radon levels in Ellis CountyEPA zone 1
43.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.5 pCi/L · 780 tests · 12.8 points below Russell County
- Radon levels in Ellsworth CountyEPA zone 1
35.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.9 pCi/L · 162 tests · 21.1 points below Russell County
- Radon levels in Barton CountyEPA zone 1
25.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.9 pCi/L · 402 tests · 30.9 points below Russell County
- Radon levels in Osborne CountyEPA zone 1
14.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.2 pCi/L · 21 tests · 42.0 points below Russell County
Russell County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Russell County
About 6,581 people live in Russell County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 96 fewer than in 2020 (−1.4%). Spread over its land, that is 7.4 people to the square mile. Russell alone is home to 4,286 of them, 65.1% of the total. Together its 8 incorporated places hold 83.3% of those residents; the other 16.7% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 48 tests over 2021, or 7.3 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Kansas as a whole comes to 23.5.
From Russell to Waldo, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Russell County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell | 4,286 | −2.3% | 65.1% |
| Gorham | 381 | +0.8% | 5.8% |
| Lucas | 335 | +0.3% | 5.1% |
| Luray | 160 | −1.8% | 2.4% |
| Dorrance | 142 | −2.1% | 2.2% |
| Bunker Hill | 108 | +1.9% | 1.6% |
| Paradise | 35 | +2.9% | 0.5% |
| Waldo | 32 | Level | 0.5% |
8 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).
Russell County, Homes
Homes in Russell County
Russell County is a place of houses on their own lots: 91% of its 3,687 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Kansas. The homes are older than Kansas' as a whole: half were built before 1955 (1975 for Kansas), and 61% date from before 1960. Owners live in 76% of the occupied homes (Kansas: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Russell County | Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 3,687 | 1,285,221 |
| Detached houses | 91% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 5% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | 3% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 61% | 33% |
| Built since 2000 | 6% | 20% |
| Middle year built | 1955 | 1975 |
| Owner-occupied | 76% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.