Short-term kitempowerDX
Standard Radon Test short-term mail-in radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Passive sampler
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Portsmouth city, Virginia
EPA puts Portsmouth city in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 2 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
7.0%
Chesapeake city
- Chesapeake city
- 7.0%
- Norfolk city
- 5.3%
2 of 3 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2006 to 2015
Nearest county
5.3%
Norfolk city, 6 miles
- Norfolk city
- 5.3%
- Virginia
- 30.7%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 57 tests, 2006 to 2015
Ground above low
None
77.9 pts below Virginia
- Portsmouth city
- 0.0%
- Virginia
- 77.9%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
20
Too few for a share
- Portsmouth city
- 20
- Needed
- 30
2005 to 2014, 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 Portsmouth city
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
Portsmouth city, At a glance
Portsmouth city at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential
USGS geologic potential: Low across 87% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Portsmouth city, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 2 reported tests for Portsmouth city over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 1.4 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Portsmouth city beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 2 tests were reported to CDC for Portsmouth city 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).
Portsmouth city, Compared
Portsmouth city radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Portsmouth city rests on 20 tests over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals, 0 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 5.0 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 1.6 pCi/L, with a middle value of 0.1 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 2 have a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals: Chesapeake city reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 7.0%, and Norfolk city the smallest, 5.3%. Farther out, Virginia Beach city (19 miles away) at 7.4%, Newport News city (20 miles away) at 5.9% and James City County (41 miles away) at 38.4% 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 Portsmouth city in Zone 3, its lowest label: a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 87% of the county's land low radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Portsmouth city, Geology
The ground under Portsmouth city
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Portsmouth city's mapped land in one class: low radon potential. 86.6% of it lies in the area the map calls Quaternary Coastal Plain Sediments, to which USGS gives a radon index of 6, in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quaternary Coastal Plain Sediments | Quaternary coastal sand and silt containing monazite. | Low | 6 | 86.6% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Portsmouth city beside the ground around it
Across Virginia 47.9% of the land is rated high; none of Portsmouth city's is. None of the 3 counties that border it has any moderate-potential ground either.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Portsmouth city, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Portsmouth city
- 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
Portsmouth city, Questions
Questions about radon in Portsmouth city
Are radon levels high in Portsmouth city?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Portsmouth city, Virginia were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.4 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 2 have a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals: Chesapeake city reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 7.0%, and Norfolk city the smallest, 5.3%.
Which counties border Portsmouth city?
Portsmouth city borders 3 counties: Norfolk city, Chesapeake city and Suffolk city.
Products
Portsmouth city, Products
Testing a home in Portsmouth city
No CDC figure names Portsmouth city; the nearest county with one, Norfolk city (6 miles away), reported 5.3% 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 Portsmouth city.
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
EcoQube Wi-Fi continuous radon monitor
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Plug-in
- Wi-Fi
- App only
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Portsmouth city, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Portsmouth city
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Chesapeake cityEPA zone 3
7.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.1 pCi/L · 43 tests
- Radon levels in Norfolk cityEPA zone 3
5.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.7 pCi/L · 57 tests
- Radon levels in Suffolk cityEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 5 tests
Portsmouth city, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Portsmouth city
About 96,777 people live in Portsmouth city by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 1,214 fewer than in 2020 (−1.2%). Packed into its land, that is 2,906 people per square mile. Portsmouth, its one incorporated place, has 96,777 residents, 100.0% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 20 tests over 2005 to 2014, or 0.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Virginia as a whole comes to 4.4.
Portsmouth is the one incorporated place here; CDC publishes no figure by town, so it reads Portsmouth city's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | 96,777 | −1.2% | 100.0% |
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).
Portsmouth city, Homes
Homes in Portsmouth city
Of Portsmouth city's 43,233 homes, 61% are detached houses, against 61% across Virginia; 19% are in buildings of five or more homes. The homes are older than Virginia's as a whole: half were built before 1966 (1984 for Virginia), and 42% date from before 1960. 57% 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 | Portsmouth city | Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 43,233 | 3,654,784 |
| Detached houses | 61% | 61% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 19% | 19% |
| Mobile homes | 1% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 42% | 19% |
| Built since 2000 | 12% | 25% |
| Middle year built | 1966 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 57% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.