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Radon Levels in Franklin County, Pennsylvania

Zone 1Highest predicted potential773 square miles · 8 bordering counties

What this means for you

  • Your area: EPA rates Franklin County Zone 1, the highest of its three radon zones. That is a prediction for the whole county, and homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones.
  • Local tests: Of 1,059 radon tests reported to CDC for Franklin County (2020), 42.6% were at or above 4 pCi/L, EPA's action level.
  • Your home: The only way to know your home’s level is to test it.

pCi/L (picocuries per liter) is the unit radon is measured in. EPA recommends fixing a home at 4 pCi/L or above, its action level.

In 2020, 42.6% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Franklin County, Pennsylvania came back at or above the EPA action level of 4 pCi/L, and the median result was 3.1 pCi/L. EPA's Map of Radon Zones places the county in Zone 1, highest predicted potential. Radon levels vary from home to home, so only a test measures the level in yours.

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential

EPA predicts an average indoor of greater than 4 pCi/L (greater than 150 Bq/m³) across the county as a whole.

This is a county-level geologic prediction. It is not a measurement of any address, and houses with elevated radon are found in all three zones.

USGS geologic potential: Low across 94% of the county's land area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Franklin County, 2020

Tests reported
1,059
At or above 4 pCi/L
42.6%
Median result
3.1 pCi/L
Reported results by concentration band, Franklin County, 2020
Under 2 pCi/L: 37%2 to 4 pCi/L: 20%4 pCi/L and above: 43%

Of 1,059 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area. CDC publishes the share in each band, not a count per band, so the per-band counts in the table are calculated by Radon411 and rounded to add up to the published total.

Reported results by concentration band, Franklin County, 2020: data table
Result bandTests Calculated by Radon411Share Measured
Under 2 pCi/L39537.3%
2 to 4 pCi/L21320.1%
4 pCi/L and above45142.6%

Distribution of tested buildings, not this house. People testing before a sale, or because they suspect a problem, are over-represented in any reported testing data.

Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2020. Measured data period: 2005 to 2020 (every CDC figure on file).

Franklin County, In figures

Franklin County in figures

What the published data says about Franklin County, in words. A zone and a share of tests describe an area, never the level in any one home.

    • Predicted

      Predicted

      EPA places Franklin County in Zone 1, highest predicted potential, as it does 48 other counties of Pennsylvania's 67.

      Of the 8 bordering counties, EPA places Adams County, Cumberland County, Frederick County, Fulton County, Huntingdon County, Juniata County, Perry County and Washington County in Zone 1.

  • Reported tests

    Measured

    CDC has annual figures for Franklin County for 7 years, 2014 to 2020. In 2020, 42.6% of 1,059 reported tests were at or above 4 pCi/L.

    Across those years the share ranged from 42.5% (2014) to 59.1% (2016). Few tests in a year can move it a long way.

  • Local record

    Pennsylvania's radon program is the Radon Division, run by Department of Environmental Protection; its contacts are under Local resources.

    The county's largest incorporated places are Chambersburg, Waynesboro and Shippensburg; the figures here cover them as part of the county.

Franklin County, Reported testing

Reported testing over time

Measured
Reported radon test results by year, Franklin County, pCi/LLogarithmic scale: each step up the axis multiplies the level, so the median and the single highest result can share one chart. The darker gridline is EPA's action level, 4 pCi/L.
Median reported resultHighest reported result
Reported radon test results by year, Franklin County, pCi/L: data table
YearMedian reported resultHighest reported resultShare of tests at or above 4 pCi/L
20143.1 pCi/L128.9 pCi/L42.5%
20153.8 pCi/L293.9 pCi/L49.2%
20165.1 pCi/L156.5 pCi/L59.1%
20174.5 pCi/L111.7 pCi/L55.2%
20183.8 pCi/L170.2 pCi/L49.0%
20193.6 pCi/L117.7 pCi/L47.5%
20203.1 pCi/L165.6 pCi/L42.6%

What these figures count

Every percentage here is a share of radon tests reported to CDC for Franklin County in 2020. It is not a share of homes in Franklin County, and it is not a random sample: it counts only the tests people chose to run and that were reported.

The shares and the median are calculated from pre-mitigation tests (1,059 for 2020). CDC also reports the number of buildings tested (621), a different count, so the two totals are not interchangeable.

Franklin County, State data

Pennsylvania's own radon test data

Measured

What Pennsylvania's own agencies publish about radon tests in Franklin County, with their period. These are not CDC's figures and are never added to them.

MeasuredState figures, not CDC's

What Pennsylvania DEP reports for the ZIP codes in Franklin County

Pennsylvania DEP publishes its figures by ZIP code, not by county. These are the 31 ZIP codes that lie wholly or partly in Franklin County, each with the state's own figures for it. Period: Period not stated by DEP.

ZIP codes in Franklin County
ZIP codeWhat the state reports
17021Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17201Basement: average 10.1 pCi/L, 4,153 tests; First floor: average 6.5 pCi/L, 729 tests
17202Basement: average 10.7 pCi/L, 1,999 tests; First floor: average 6.1 pCi/L, 235 tests
17210Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17214Basement: average 5.1 pCi/L, 64 tests; First floor: figures not shown
17217Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17219Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17220Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17221Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17222Basement: average 7.7 pCi/L, 1,614 tests; First floor: average 4.6 pCi/L, 227 tests
17224Basement: average 6.6 pCi/L, 67 tests; First floor: figures not shown
17225Basement: average 11.4 pCi/L, 1,554 tests; First floor: average 5.8 pCi/L, 240 tests
17232Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17235Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17236Basement: average 10.8 pCi/L, 559 tests; First floor: average 3.3 pCi/L, 189 tests
17237Basement: average 5.3 pCi/L, 74 tests; First floor: figures not shown
17240Basement: average 10.4 pCi/L, 228 tests; First floor: average 4.5 pCi/L, 37 tests
17244Basement: average 11.3 pCi/L, 131 tests; First floor: figures not shown
17246Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17247Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17250Basement: figures not shown
17251Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17252Basement: average 12.9 pCi/L, 170 tests; First floor: figures not shown
17254Basement: average 8.1 pCi/L, 53 tests; First floor: figures not shown
17257Basement: average 10.5 pCi/L, 2,605 tests; First floor: average 4.6 pCi/L, 796 tests
17261Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17262Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17263Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17265Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
17268Basement: average 10.5 pCi/L, 2,247 tests; First floor: average 4.6 pCi/L, 407 tests
17271Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown
  • DEP's report gives the number of tests, the highest result and the average result for each floor tested; it states no period.
  • DEP says the smartest thing to do is to test your home for radon, no matter where you live.
  • A ZIP code that crosses the county line is listed whole; its figures cover all of it.

Measured: Pennsylvania DEP data, Period not stated by DEP.

Franklin County, Comparison

How Franklin County compares

Measured

Franklin County's own published CDC figures beside those of the counties that border it, for the same period.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L

Measured

2020, highest first. Each county’s own published CDC figure.

  1. Fulton CountyPA28 tests67.9%
  2. Perry CountyPA189 tests57.7%
  3. Huntingdon CountyPA100 tests54.0%
  4. Juniata CountyPA87 tests52.9%
  5. Cumberland CountyPA2,950 tests43.6%
  6. Franklin CountyThis page1,059 tests42.6%
  7. Adams CountyPA852 tests39.7%

Median reported result

Measured

2020, highest first. Each county’s own published CDC figure.

  1. Fulton CountyPA28 tests8.3 pCi/L
  2. Perry CountyPA189 tests4.9 pCi/L
  3. Huntingdon CountyPA100 tests4.5 pCi/L
  4. Juniata CountyPA87 tests4.4 pCi/L
  5. Cumberland CountyPA2,950 tests3.1 pCi/L
  6. Franklin CountyThis page1,059 tests3.1 pCi/L
  7. Adams CountyPA852 tests2.8 pCi/L

Each figure is that county’s own published CDC figure for 2020, counting radon tests reported to CDC, not homes. Franklin County is this page. Nothing is averaged or combined across counties. The test count beside each county is CDC’s published number of pre-mitigation tests behind its figures. Figures from few tests can swing widely from year to year. No published CDC figure for 2020: Washington County, MD; Frederick County, MD. Every Pennsylvania county’s own figure is in the Pennsylvania county table.

CDC publishes this figure only for counties here, so there is no state or national number to compare Franklin County, Pennsylvania with.

Franklin County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Franklin County

Calculated by Radon411

Franklin County, Local resources

Local resources in Pennsylvania

Who to ask in Pennsylvania: the state's radon program, test kits and professionals.

Radon Division

Department of Environmental Protection

Pennsylvania’s radon program answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules where you live.

Phone
800-237-2366
Licensing of radon professionals
The Radon Certification Act requires DEP to establish by regulation, a certification program for persons conducting radon gas and radon progeny testing, laboratory analysis and mitigation...
Visit the program's page(opens in a new tab)

Test kits

The program says: Through an EPA-funded program, hospitals give parents of newborn children a packet of information which includes a coupon for a free radon test kit from the DEP.

Radon professionals

755 professionals are listed in Pennsylvania.

Professionals in Pennsylvania

Franklin County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Franklin County

The radon figures on this page are for Franklin County as a whole. They do not differ by city or town.

  • Chambersburg
  • Waynesboro
  • Shippensburg (part)
  • Greencastle
  • Mont Alto
  • Mercersburg
  • Orrstown

7 incorporated places, as listed in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 place reference files. “(part)” marks a place that extends into another county.

Franklin County, Questions

Questions about radon in Franklin County

Common questions8 questions, answered from the figures above

Are radon levels high in Franklin County?

In 2020, 42.6% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Franklin County, Pennsylvania were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 3.1 pCi/L. That is a share of reported tests, not of homes. EPA places Franklin County in Zone 1, highest predicted potential, a predicted average indoor screening level greater than 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so the figures describe the area, not your house. Testing is the only way to know the radon level in a specific building.

What a radon level meansRadon in Pennsylvania

How do I get a radon test in Franklin County?

EPA says you can test your home yourself or hire a qualified radon test company, and that either approach takes only a small amount of time and effort. No certified tester listed on Radon411 names Franklin County as a service area yet. The Pennsylvania radon program is the place to ask about certified testers and any test kit offer it runs.

How to test a homeTest kits comparedFree and low-cost kits by statePennsylvania radon program

Who does radon mitigation in Franklin County?

No listed mitigator names Franklin County as a service area yet; the Pennsylvania directory lists 755 companies. EPA recommends having a qualified contractor fix a home with a radon problem, because lowering high radon levels takes technical knowledge and special skills, and some states require the work to be done by a licensed or certified professional. Your state radon program is the place to check whether Pennsylvania requires one.

How radon mitigation worksWhat mitigation costsMitigators in Pennsylvania

What EPA radon zone is Franklin County in?

EPA places Franklin County, Pennsylvania in Zone 1, which EPA describes as highest predicted potential for the area. A zone is a prediction for the whole county and never determines whether a particular home should be tested. EPA recommends testing every home regardless of zone.

Should I test my home in Franklin County?

Yes. Testing is the only way to know the radon level in a specific building. EPA recommends fixing a home when the radon level is 4 pCi/L or higher. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. How to test a home.

When is the best time of year to test?

EPA says short-term tests stay in the home from 2 to 90 days and that all radon tests should run a minimum of 48 hours; long-term tests stay more than 90 days. EPA's guides do not name a best season: they say radon levels tend to vary from day to day and season to season, so a long-term test is more likely than a short-term test to tell you the year-round average.

What does it cost to test?

EPA's Citizen's Guide calls testing easy and inexpensive, and EPA's Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide says passive short-term and long-term devices are generally inexpensive, while active devices may cost more. No national average price is published for this, so Radon411 does not give one. What testing costs.

Which counties border Franklin County?

Franklin County borders 8 counties, derived from Census county geometry. Radon potential follows geology rather than county lines, so a bordering county's report can be relevant.

What these figures mean if you own, buy, sell or rent

The reported-test figures on this page describe Franklin County, Pennsylvania in 2020. They describe tests other people carried out in other buildings, and none of them measures yours.

  • If you own your home

    Test the lowest lived-in level; a short-term kit screens in days, a long-term kit reflects the year.

    How to test a home
  • If you are buying

    Ask for past results and any system's post-mitigation test, and test during the sale.

    Buying a house: radon guide
  • If you are selling

    Testing before you list puts the timing in your hands; disclosure rules differ by state.

    Selling a house: radon guide
  • If you rent, or rent out a home

    A tenant can test; a fix is the owner's to make, and duties differ by state.

    Radon in rental homes

How long a test has to run, under what conditions, and what EPA says a result means: the testing standard, in full.

Franklin County, Products

Testing and mitigation products

Whatever the figures for Franklin County show, only a test tells you about one home.

Franklin County / Next steps

What to do next

Informational. Follow EPA guidance. EPA says all radon tests should be taken for a minimum of 48 hours, with windows and doors closed from 12 hours before a short-term test.