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Radon in Bangor, Maine

EPA puts Penobscot County, where Bangor is, in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and 16.4% of its 1,491 reported radon tests (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) were at or above 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.

Data checked By Radon411Methodology

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  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    16.4%

    21.2 pts below ME

    Penobscot
    16.4%
    Maine
    37.6%

    Penobscot, 16th of 16 in ME, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    0.8pCi/L

    Below action level

    Penobscot
    0.8 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of Penobscot's tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Nearest county

    39.1%

    Hancock, 24 miles

    Hancock
    39.1%
    Penobscot
    16.4%

    327 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 1

    Highest potential

    1. Zone 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    Penobscot, where Bangor is

  • Tests reported

    1,491

    In Penobscot

    Penobscot
    1,491
    Hancock
    327

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017

Read a result for Bangor

Starts at Penobscot County's median, 0.8 pCi/L

0.8pCi/L

EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.

EPA’s reading of 0.8 pCi/L

Below 2 pCi/L

  1. Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
  2. 2 to 4consider a fix
  3. 4 and aboveEPA says fix it

This result is below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Penobscot County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this reading

The data

Bangor, What is published

What is published for Bangor

Information:

Every figure for Bangor is a county's

Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Bangor it is Penobscot County's: its EPA zone (Zone 1) and the 1,491 tests reported to CDC for 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Only a test tells you about one home.

Bangor covers 34.3 square miles of land, all of it in Penobscot County. With 32,518 residents it is thinly built: 949 people to the square mile.

Bangor, Counties

The county Bangor lies in

Measured

Penobscot County's EPA zone and the figures CDC publishes for it, 2008 to 2017, laboratory.

Penobscot CountyZone 1Highest predicted potential

16.4%
Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
0.8 pCi/L
Median reported result
1,491 tests
Tests reported to CDC
None
Yearly figures on file

Penobscot County ranks 16th of 16 Maine counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 21.2 points below the 37.6% pooled across Maine's counties, 19.3 points below the national pool of 35.7%.

The counties nearest Bangor with a CDC figure for 2008 to 2017, laboratory, measured from the middle of the city: Hancock County (24 miles, 39.1% of 327 tests), Waldo County (29 miles, 32.1% of 209 tests) and Knox County (51 miles, 29.6% of 287 tests). Across the 8 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 18.8% to 47.7%; the farthest of them, Somerset County, is 74 miles away at 18.8%.

No business in the directory gives Bangor as its address; the Maine list covers it. Maine's other cities with a page of their own: Westbrook.

The counties around Bangor

By distance from the middle of Bangor; counties with 30 or more tests.

Nearest counties to Bangor with 30 or more tests
CountyDistanceTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Hancock County24 mi32739.1%2.6 pCi/L
Waldo County29 mi20932.1%2.3 pCi/L
Knox County51 mi28729.6%2.3 pCi/L
Kennebec County56 mi69630.3%2.1 pCi/L
Washington County59 mi5429.6%1.6 pCi/L
Lincoln County65 mi24635.8%2.5 pCi/L
Piscataquis County73 mi4447.7%3.5 pCi/L
Somerset County74 mi8518.8%1.5 pCi/L

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones, by county. Measured: CDC tracking data, by county, 2008 to 2017, laboratory.

Bangor, Geology

The ground under Bangor

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Bangor's mapped land in one class: low radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Central Maine Highlands, to which USGS gives a radon index of 8, in the low band (5 to 8).

USGS's geologic areas under Bangor
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Central Maine HighlandsGlacial lake clay and marine clay.Low8100%

Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.

Bangor beside its county and Maine

Penobscot County as a whole has 4.0% of its land rated high; none of that ground lies under Bangor. Across Maine 24.5% of the land is rated high; none of Bangor's is.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Bangor, the county it lies in and Maine
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
BangorBy county100%NoneNone
Penobscot CountyZone 129.7%66.2%4.0%
Maine16 counties, pooled by land areaVaries35.9%38.3%24.5%

The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.

Bangor, Homes

Homes in Bangor

Fewer than six in ten of Bangor's 15,559 homes are detached houses (40%, against 64% across Penobscot County); the rest are attached, in shared buildings or mobile. The homes are older than Penobscot County's as a whole: half were built before 1955 (1977 for Penobscot County), and 55% date from before 1960. Most occupied homes here are rented: owners live in 47% (Penobscot County: 70%). A tenant can run a test; a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Bangor, Penobscot County, Maine, 2019 to 2023
HomesBangorPenobscot CountyMaine
Housing units15,55975,405746,552
Detached houses40%64%70%
In buildings of 5 or more22%9%9%
Mobile homes7%12%8%
Built before 196055%34%35%
Built since 200013%20%20%
Middle year built195519771976
Owner-occupied47%70%74%

Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.

Local help

Bangor, Local resources

Local resources for Bangor

Who to ask in Maine: its radon program, test kits and professionals.

The program's own words on licensing are on the Maine page.

What it means

Bangor, Questions

Questions about radon in Bangor

What radon zone is Bangor in?

Bangor takes its zone from Penobscot County, which EPA puts in Zone 1, the map's highest class: a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L.

What are radon levels in Bangor?

Penobscot County's 1,491 tests for 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals) put 16.4% at or above 4 pCi/L: most tests near Bangor come back under EPA's action level, but not all. The median reported result was 0.8 pCi/L.

Should I test my home in Bangor?

Yes. Roughly one reported test in 6 in Penobscot County reached 4 pCi/L. That is below Maine's pooled 37.6%, and still not a reason to skip it, and ranks Penobscot County 16th of the 16 Maine counties with 30 or more tests. Only a test puts a number on one house. How to test a home.

What ground is Bangor built on, as far as radon goes?

USGS's geologic map puts all of Bangor on one named area, "Central Maine Highlands", rated low for radon potential, radon index 8.

Is radon higher in the counties around Bangor?

Yes, in every direction measured. Each of the 8 nearest counties with a figure reports a larger share of high tests than Penobscot County's 16.4%; the highest is Piscataquis County (47.7%, 73 miles off).

The answers use the published figures of Penobscot County, the county Bangor lies in.

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