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 Powhatan County, Virginia
EPA puts Powhatan County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and 28.0% of its 50 reported radon tests (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) were 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
28.0%
2.4 pts below VA
- Powhatan
- 28.0%
- Virginia
- 30.4%
50 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
1.7pCi/L
Below action level
- Powhatan
- 1.7 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
50
74th of 84 by tests
- Powhatan
- 50
- Fairfax
- 8,657
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 Virginia
57 of 84
Middle half
- Powhatan
- 28.0%
- Russell
- 67.3%
By share, of 84 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Powhatan County
Starts at Powhatan County's median, 1.7 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.7 pCi/L
Below 2 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Powhatan County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Powhatan County, At a glance
Powhatan County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Powhatan County in
USGS geologic potential: High across 79% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Powhatan County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 56%2 to 4 pCi/L: 16%4 pCi/L and above: 28%
Of 50 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 28 | 56.0% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 8 | 16.0% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 14 | 28.0% |
What these figures count
These are the 50 tests reported to CDC for Powhatan 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).
Powhatan County, Compared
Powhatan County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Powhatan County's 50 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 1.7 pCi/L and a maximum of 11.9 pCi/L, and 28.0% reached 4 pCi/L. Virginia as a whole (131 Virginia counties, pooled) comes to 30.4%: 2.4 points higher than here.
Among its state's counties it ranks 57th of 84 Virginia counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Russell County reported the highest share (67.3%) and Norfolk city the lowest (2.7%).
Below the action level, 28 tests (56.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 44.7% statewide, and 8 tests (16.0%) fell between 2 and 4, against 24.9% statewide. CDC's ten-year totals for Powhatan County went from 33 tests (2005 to 2014) to 50 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 18.2% to 28.0%.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Powhatan County in Zone 1, a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 79% of the county's land high radon potential.
Next door, the shares run from 27.0% in Henrico County to 30.7% in Goochland County, with Henrico County below Powhatan County.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Powhatan County, Geology
The ground under Powhatan County
PredictedMost of the ground under Powhatan County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 78.8% of its land is high radon potential, with 21.2% moderate. The map puts 78.8% of Powhatan County in the area it calls Goochland Terrane and 21.2% in Mesozoic Basins. USGS gives the first a radon index of 13, in the high band (12 to 17), and the second 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goochland Terrane | Granite, pegmatites, granitic gneiss, schist and gneiss, slate, and phyllite. | High | 13 | 78.8% |
| Mesozoic Basins | Sandstone, siltstone and lacustrine black shale. | Moderate | 11 | 21.2% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Powhatan County beside the ground around it
Powhatan County has more high-potential ground than Virginia as a whole: 78.8% of its land against 47.9%. Of the 5 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Amelia County the most at 92.8%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Powhatan County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Powhatan 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
Powhatan County, Questions
Questions about radon in Powhatan County
Are radon levels high in Powhatan County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 28.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Powhatan County, Virginia were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.7 pCi/L. Of 84 Virginia counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 56 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 30.4%.
Which counties border Powhatan County?
Powhatan County borders 5 counties: Amelia County, Goochland County, Cumberland County, Chesterfield County and Henrico County.
Products
Powhatan County, Products
Testing a home in Powhatan County
In Powhatan County, 28.0% of 50 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 30.4% pooled across Virginia. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Powhatan 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
MonitorAEGTEST
HOUND-1011S rechargeable radon detector with a screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 12 hours
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
Powhatan County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Powhatan County
Explore
Powhatan County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Powhatan County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Goochland CountyEPA zone 1
30.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.4 pCi/L · 114 tests · 2.7 points above Powhatan County
- Radon levels in Chesterfield CountyEPA zone 1
29.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.2 pCi/L · 733 tests · 1.6 points above Powhatan County
- Radon levels in Amelia CountyEPA zone 1
27.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.0 pCi/L · 11 tests · 0.7 points below Powhatan County
- Radon levels in Henrico CountyEPA zone 3
27.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.1 pCi/L · 607 tests · 1.0 points below Powhatan County
- Radon levels in Cumberland CountyEPA zone 1
16.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.1 pCi/L · 12 tests · 11.3 points below Powhatan County
Powhatan County, Residents
Who lives in Powhatan County
Powhatan County is growing: the Census Bureau puts it at 32,591 residents on July 1, 2025, up 7.0% from 30,453 in 2020. That works out to 125 people per square mile of land. Reported testing is thin here: 50 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 1.5 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Virginia as a whole comes to 6.0.
Census lists no incorporated place in Powhatan County: every home in it reads the county's figures.
Residents: U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for July 1, 2025 (Vintage 2025).
Powhatan County, Homes
Homes in Powhatan County
Powhatan County is a place of houses on their own lots: 95% of its 11,841 homes are detached single-family houses, against 61% across Virginia. Much of Powhatan County is recent building: 38% of its homes have gone up since 2000 and the middle year built is 1995, against 1984 for Virginia. Owners live in 93% of the occupied homes (Virginia: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Powhatan County | Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 11,841 | 3,654,784 |
| Detached houses | 95% | 61% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | under 1% | 19% |
| Mobile homes | 2% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 6% | 19% |
| Built since 2000 | 38% | 25% |
| Middle year built | 1995 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 93% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.