Short-term kitKidde
442020 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 3 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Buchanan County, Virginia
EPA puts Buchanan County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 20 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Highest bordering
68.5%
Russell County
- Russell
- 68.5%
- Pike
- 18.8%
3 of 6 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2006 to 2015
Nearest county
68.5%
Russell County, 23 miles
- Russell
- 68.5%
- Virginia
- 30.7%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 54 tests, 2006 to 2015
Ground above low
99.8%
21.8 pts above Virginia
- Buchanan
- 99.8%
- Virginia
- 77.9%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
21
Too few for a share
- Buchanan
- 21
- 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 Buchanan 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
Buchanan County, At a glance
Buchanan County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Buchanan County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 99% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Buchanan County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 20 reported tests for Buchanan County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 2.7 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Buchanan County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 20 tests were reported to CDC for Buchanan County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), 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: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Buchanan County, Compared
Buchanan County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Buchanan County rests on 21 tests over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals, 6 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 4.8 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 9.6 pCi/L, with a middle value of 2.7 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals: Russell County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 68.5%, and Pike County, KY the smallest, 18.8%, with Tazewell County at 59.0% between. Farther out, Washington County (38 miles away) at 55.6%, Wise County (38 miles away) at 20.4% and Smyth County (40 miles away) at 62.6% have figures too. Pooled across 132 Virginia counties, 30.7% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 36.3%.
Statewide for the same period, Russell County reported the highest share (68.5%) and Norfolk city the lowest (5.3%). EPA's 1993 map puts Buchanan County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 99% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Buchanan County, Geology
The ground under Buchanan County
PredictedMost of the ground under Buchanan County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 99.0% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 0.8% high and 0.2% low. 98.8% of it lies in the area the map calls Appalachian Plateau, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian Plateau | Pennsylvanian sandstone, shale, and coal. | Moderate | 10 | 98.8% |
| Valley and Ridge | Cambrian dolomite, limestone, shale, and sandstone, Silurian-Ordovician limestone, dolomite, shale, and sandstone, Mississippian-Devonian sandstone, shale, limestone, gypsum, and coal. | High | 15 | 0.8% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Buchanan County beside the ground around it
Virginia as a whole has more high-potential ground than Buchanan County: 47.9% of its land, against 0.8% here. Of the 6 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Russell County the most at 84.4%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Buchanan County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Buchanan County
- VDH Radon ProgramVDH Radon Program answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules in Virginia.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 Virginia2 professionals are listed in Virginia.
What Virginia's program says
- Phone
- (804) 864-8161
- Radon@vdh.virginia.gov
- Licensing of radon professionals
The Code of Virginia requires that Radon testers and mitigators be currently certified by either the National Radon Proficiency Program (NRPP) or the National Radon Safety Board (NRSB).
What it means
Buchanan County, Questions
Questions about radon in Buchanan County
Are radon levels high in Buchanan County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 25.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Buchanan County, Virginia were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.7 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals: Russell County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 68.5%, and Pike County, KY the smallest, 18.8%, with Tazewell County at 59.0% between.
Which counties border Buchanan County?
Buchanan County borders 6 counties: Pike County, KY, Dickenson County, VA, McDowell County, WV, Russell County, VA, Tazewell County, VA and Mingo County, WV.
Products
Buchanan County, Products
Testing a home in Buchanan County
No CDC figure names Buchanan County; the nearest county with one, Russell County (23 miles away), reported 68.5% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2006 to 2015 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 Buchanan 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
MonitorAEGTEST
HOUND-1085 palm-sized rechargeable radon detector
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 6 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Buchanan County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Buchanan County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Russell County, VAEPA zone 1
68.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.7 pCi/L · 54 tests
- Radon levels in Tazewell County, VAEPA zone 1
59.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.4 pCi/L · 105 tests
- Radon levels in Dickenson County, VAEPA zone 2
28.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.4 pCi/L · 7 tests
- Radon levels in Pike County, KYEPA zone 2
18.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.4 pCi/L · 85 tests
- Radon levels in McDowell County, WVEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.5 pCi/L · 3 tests
- Radon levels in Mingo County, WVEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.0 pCi/L · 5 tests
Buchanan County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Buchanan County
Buchanan County has been losing residents: from 20,247 in 2020 to 18,492 on July 1, 2025, a fall of 8.7% by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 37 people per square mile of land. Grundy, its one incorporated place, has 815 residents, 4.4% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 21 tests over 2007 to 2016, or 1.1 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Virginia as a whole comes to 5.6.
Grundy is the one incorporated place here; CDC publishes no figure by town, so it reads Buchanan County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grundy | 815 | −8.0% | 4.4% |
One incorporated place, 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).
Buchanan County, Homes
Homes in Buchanan County
Of Buchanan County's 10,340 homes, 63% are detached houses, against 61% across Virginia; 32% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1979, close to Virginia's 1984: 20% date from before 1960 and 17% from 2000 or later. Owners live in 82% of the occupied homes (Virginia: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Buchanan County | Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 10,340 | 3,654,784 |
| Detached houses | 63% | 61% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 2% | 19% |
| Mobile homes | 32% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 20% | 19% |
| Built since 2000 | 17% | 25% |
| Middle year built | 1979 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 82% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.