Short-term kit
PicoCan short-term charcoal canister radon test
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Essex County, Virginia
EPA puts Essex County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 13 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
47.6%
King George County
- King George
- 47.6%
- Westmoreland
- 14.3%
3 of 6 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2006 to 2015
Nearest county
14.3%
Westmoreland County, 14 miles
- Westmoreland
- 14.3%
- Virginia
- 30.7%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 35 tests, 2006 to 2015
Ground above low
None
77.9 pts below Virginia
- Essex
- 0.0%
- Virginia
- 77.9%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
13
Too few for a share
- Essex
- 13
- Needed
- 30
2008 to 2017, laboratory
EPA radon zone
Zone 3
Lower potential
- 1
- 2
- Zone 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts under 2 pCi/L indoors
Read a result for Essex 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
Essex County, At a glance
Essex County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential
USGS geologic potential: Low across 96% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Essex County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 13 reported tests for Essex County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 3.2 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Essex County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 13 tests were reported to CDC for Essex 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).
Essex County, Compared
Essex County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Essex County rests on 13 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 1 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 7.7 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 4.5 pCi/L, with a middle value of 3.2 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals: King George County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 47.6%, and Westmoreland County the smallest, 14.3%, with Caroline County at 36.3% between. Farther out, Hanover County (32 miles away) at 16.0%, Henrico County (37 miles away) at 25.7% and Fredericksburg city (38 miles away) at 26.4% 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 Essex County in Zone 3, its lowest label: a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 96% of the county's land low radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Essex County, Geology
The ground under Essex County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Essex County's mapped land in one class: low radon potential. 96.3% of it lies in the area the map calls Tertiary Coastal Plain Sediments, to which USGS gives a radon index of 8, in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tertiary Coastal Plain Sediments | Tertiary Coastal Plain sand, silt, clay | Low | 8 | 96.3% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Essex County beside the ground around it
Across Virginia 47.9% of the land is rated high; none of Essex County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, 1 has more high-potential ground, Caroline County the most at 9.5%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Essex County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Essex 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
Essex County, Questions
Questions about radon in Essex County
Are radon levels high in Essex County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 7.7% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Essex County, Virginia were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 3.2 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals: King George County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 47.6%, and Westmoreland County the smallest, 14.3%, with Caroline County at 36.3% between.
Which counties border Essex County?
Essex County borders 6 counties: Richmond County, Westmoreland County, King and Queen County, Caroline County, King George County and Middlesex County.
Products
Essex County, Products
Testing a home in Essex County
No CDC figure names Essex County; the nearest county with one, Westmoreland County (14 miles away), reported 14.3% 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. Zone 3 is the lowest label, yet homes at or above 4 pCi/L occur in every zone: a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Essex County.
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
Monitor
RM-65 rechargeable radon detector with a color screen and alarm
- 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
Essex County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Essex County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in King George CountyEPA zone 3
47.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.8 pCi/L · 376 tests
- Radon levels in Caroline CountyEPA zone 3
36.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.6 pCi/L · 135 tests
- Radon levels in King and Queen CountyEPA zone 3
28.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.4 pCi/L · 7 tests
- Radon levels in Richmond CountyEPA zone 3
26.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.8 pCi/L · 26 tests
- Radon levels in Westmoreland CountyEPA zone 3
14.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.6 pCi/L · 35 tests
- Radon levels in Middlesex CountyEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.6 pCi/L · 3 tests
Essex County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Essex County
The Census Bureau estimates 10,654 residents in Essex County for July 1, 2025, 57 more than in 2020 (+0.5%). That works out to 41 people per square mile of land. Tappahannock, its one incorporated place, has 2,193 residents, 20.6% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 13 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 1.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Virginia as a whole comes to 6.0.
Tappahannock is the one incorporated place here; CDC publishes no figure by town, so it reads Essex County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tappahannock | 2,193 | +0.2% | 20.6% |
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).
Essex County, Homes
Homes in Essex County
Of Essex County's 5,785 homes, 73% are detached houses, against 61% across Virginia; 14% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1981, close to Virginia's 1984: 24% date from before 1960 and 25% from 2000 or later. 69% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Virginia: 67%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Essex County | Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 5,785 | 3,654,784 |
| Detached houses | 73% | 61% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 8% | 19% |
| Mobile homes | 14% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 24% | 19% |
| Built since 2000 | 25% | 25% |
| Middle year built | 1981 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 69% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.