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 Brule County, South Dakota
EPA puts Brule County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 67.6% of the 37 radon tests reported to CDC (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) came back 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
Share at 4+ pCi/L
67.6%
9.1 pts above SD
- Brule
- 67.6%
- SD
- 58.5%
37 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
6.4pCi/L
Action level reached
- Brule
- 6.4 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
37
22nd of 23 by tests
- Brule
- 37
- Minnehaha
- 1,920
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in SD
8 of 23
Middle half
- Brule
- 67.6%
- Lake
- 76.0%
By share, of 23 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Brule County
Starts at Brule County's median, 6.4 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 6.4 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. Brule County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Brule County, At a glance
Brule County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Brule 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 Brule County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 8%2 to 4 pCi/L: 24%4 pCi/L and above: 68%
Of 37 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 3 | 8.1% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 9 | 24.3% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 25 | 67.6% |
What these figures count
These are the 37 tests reported to CDC for Brule County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), many from homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: they describe the county's reported tests, not this house.
Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Brule County, Compared
Brule County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 67.6% of the 37 radon tests reported to CDC for Brule County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 8th of 23 South Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 9.1 points above the 58.5% pooled from 62 South Dakota counties.
The median result, 6.4 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 37.4 pCi/L. The rest split 8.1% under 2 pCi/L and 24.3% from 2 to 4 (South Dakota: 23.6% and 17.9%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 67.6% share point the same way here.
Statewide for the same period, Lake County reported the highest share (76.0%) and Davison County the lowest (48.8%).
CDC's ten-year totals for Brule County went from 28 tests (2005 to 2014) to 37 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 64.3% to 67.6%.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Brule County sits 31.9 points above it.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Brule County, Geology
The ground under Brule County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Brule County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Missouri Coteau/James River Lowland/Coteau des Prairies, to which USGS gives a radon index of 14, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri Coteau/James River Lowland/Coteau des Prairies | Glacial drift derived largely from Cretaceous marine shale. | High | 14 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Brule County beside the ground around it
Brule County has more high-potential ground than South Dakota as a whole: 100% of its land against 56.7%. Of the 5 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Aurora County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Brule County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Brule County
- South Dakota's radon programDepartment of Agriculture and Natural ResourcesSouth Dakota's radon program offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in South Dakota.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
The Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) will provide 500 free Radon test kits to South Dakota Residents.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in South Dakota5 professionals are listed in South Dakota.
What South Dakota's program says
- Phone
- 1-800-438-3367
What it means
Brule County, Questions
Questions about radon in Brule County
Are radon levels high in Brule County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 67.6% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Brule County, South Dakota were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 6.4 pCi/L. Of 23 South Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 7 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 58.5%.
Which counties border Brule County?
Brule County borders 5 counties: Buffalo County, Aurora County, Jerauld County, Lyman County and Charles Mix County.
Products
Brule County, Products
Testing a home in Brule County
In Brule County, 67.6% of 37 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 58.5% pooled across South Dakota. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Brule 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
Monitor
EcoQube Flex 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 15 minutes
Short-term kit
PicoCan short-term charcoal canister radon test
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 48 to 96 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Brule County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Brule County
Explore
Brule County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Brule County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Lyman CountyEPA zone 1
100.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 22.1 pCi/L · 2 tests · 32.4 points above Brule County
- Radon levels in Jerauld CountyEPA zone 1
69.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 8.8 pCi/L · 23 tests · 2.0 points above Brule County
- Radon levels in Charles Mix CountyEPA zone 1
60.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.5 pCi/L · 28 tests · 6.9 points below Brule County
- Radon levels in Aurora CountyEPA zone 1
40.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.7 pCi/L · 15 tests · 27.6 points below Brule County
- Radon levels in Buffalo CountyEPA zone 1
No CDC figure for 2008 to 2017; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
Brule County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Brule County
Brule County's population has barely moved since 2020: 5,278 residents on July 1, 2025 against 5,254 then, by the Census Bureau's estimates. Spread over its land, that is 6.5 people to the square mile. Its largest town, Chamberlain, has 2,453 residents, 46.5% of the total. Together its 3 incorporated places hold 61.9% of those residents; the other 38.1% live outside any of them. CDC's 37 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 work out to 7.0 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to South Dakota's 6.7.
From Chamberlain to Pukwana, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Brule County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chamberlain | 2,453 | −0.9% | 46.5% |
| Kimball | 578 | +1.9% | 11.0% |
| Pukwana | 238 | +2.6% | 4.5% |
3 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).
Brule County, Homes
Homes in Brule County
Brule County is a place of houses on their own lots: 77% of its 2,371 homes are detached single-family houses, against 67% across South Dakota. Half of its homes were built before 1972, close to South Dakota's 1979: 40% date from before 1960 and 18% from 2000 or later. 73% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (South Dakota: 69%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Brule County | South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 2,371 | 402,364 |
| Detached houses | 77% | 67% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 9% | 16% |
| Mobile homes | 8% | 8% |
| Built before 1960 | 40% | 29% |
| Built since 2000 | 18% | 28% |
| Middle year built | 1972 | 1979 |
| Owner-occupied | 73% | 69% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.