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 McDowell County, West Virginia
EPA puts McDowell County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 3 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
40.3%
Tazewell County
- Tazewell
- 40.3%
- Mercer
- 33.7%
2 of 5 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2008 to 2017
Nearest county
33.7%
Mercer County, 30 miles
- Mercer
- 33.7%
- WV
- 37.5%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 101 tests, 2008 to 2017
Ground above low
1.7%
84.3 pts below WV
- McDowell
- 1.7%
- WV
- 86.0%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
3
Too few for a share
- McDowell
- 3
- 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 McDowell 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
McDowell County, At a glance
McDowell County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential
USGS geologic potential: Low across 98% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for McDowell County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 3 reported tests for McDowell County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 2.5 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). McDowell County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 3 tests were reported to CDC for McDowell 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).
McDowell County, Compared
McDowell County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for McDowell County rests on 3 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 0 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 33.3 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 2.6 pCi/L, with a middle value of 2.5 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 2 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Tazewell County, VA reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 40.3%, and Mercer County the smallest, 33.7%. Farther out, Raleigh County (35 miles away) at 16.7%, Kanawha County (66 miles away) at 20.6% and Greenbrier County (77 miles away) at 52.3% have figures too. Pooled across 55 West Virginia counties, 37.5% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 35.7%.
Statewide for the same period, Morgan County reported the highest share (58.1%) and Grant County the lowest (9.8%). EPA's 1993 map puts McDowell County in Zone 3, its lowest label: a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 98% of the county's land low radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
McDowell County, Geology
The ground under McDowell County
PredictedMost of the ground under McDowell County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 98.3% of its land is low radon potential, with 0.3% high and 1.3% moderate. 98.3% of it lies in the area the map calls Cumberland Plateau, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland Plateau | Pennsylvanian sandstone, siltstone, shale, and coal | Low | 8 | 98.3% |
| Southern Appalachian Valley and Ridge | Ordovician-Mississippian shale, siltstone, sandstone, limestone. | Moderate | 11 | 1.1% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
McDowell County beside the ground around it
West Virginia as a whole has more high-potential ground than McDowell County: 18.7% of its land, against 0.3% here. Of the 5 counties that border it, 3 have more high-potential ground, Tazewell County, VA the most at 75.1%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
McDowell County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in McDowell County
- OEHS Radon ProgramOEHS Radon Program, run by WV DHHR OEHS Radiation, Toxics & Indoor Air Division, licenses or certifies radon professionals and offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in West Virginia.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
West Virginia residents can request a free Radon Test Kit by emailing Radon@wv.gov or calling 304-352-5039
- Compare kits
- Professionals in West Virginia35 professionals are listed in West Virginia.
What West Virginia's program says
- Phone
- 304-352-5039
- Radon@wv.gov
- Licensing of radon professionals
Complete listings of professionals licensed to perform Asbestos, Lead, Radon and Clandestine Drug Laboratory Remediation activities in West Virginia.
What it means
McDowell County, Questions
Questions about radon in McDowell County
Are radon levels high in McDowell County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for McDowell County, West Virginia were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.5 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 2 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Tazewell County, VA reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 40.3%, and Mercer County the smallest, 33.7%.
Which counties border McDowell County?
McDowell County borders 5 counties: Wyoming County, WV, Tazewell County, VA, Buchanan County, VA, Mercer County, WV and Mingo County, WV.
Products
McDowell County, Products
Testing a home in McDowell County
No CDC figure names McDowell County; the nearest county with one, Mercer County (30 miles away), reported 33.7% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2008 to 2017 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 McDowell 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
MonitorX-Sense
XR0A-SR battery digital radon detector with a screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Screen
Method: Alpha spectrometry
First reading: Within 24 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
McDowell County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering McDowell County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Tazewell County, VAEPA zone 1
40.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.8 pCi/L · 372 tests
- Radon levels in Mercer County, WVEPA zone 1
33.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.1 pCi/L · 101 tests
- Radon levels in Wyoming County, WVEPA zone 3
33.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.8 pCi/L · 3 tests
- Radon levels in Buchanan County, VAEPA zone 2
25.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.7 pCi/L · 20 tests
- Radon levels in Mingo County, WVEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.0 pCi/L · 5 tests
McDowell County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in McDowell County
McDowell County has been losing residents: from 18,942 in 2020 to 16,878 on July 1, 2025, a fall of 10.9% by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 32 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Welch, has 3,389 residents, 20.1% of the total. Together its 10 incorporated places hold 35.2% of those residents; the other 64.8% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 3 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 0.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where West Virginia as a whole comes to 5.7.
From Welch to Anawalt, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads McDowell County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welch | 3,389 | −5.8% | 20.1% |
| Gary | 681 | −11.3% | 4.0% |
| War | 536 | −12.8% | 3.2% |
| Kimball | 243 | −12.3% | 1.4% |
| Iaeger | 239 | −12.1% | 1.4% |
| Northfork | 202 | −12.6% | 1.2% |
| Davy | 182 | −11.7% | 1.1% |
| Bradshaw | 176 | −13.3% | 1.0% |
| Keystone | 151 | −13.2% | 0.9% |
| Anawalt | 146 | −12.0% | 0.9% |
10 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).
McDowell County, Homes
Homes in McDowell County
Of McDowell County's 9,380 homes, 70% are detached houses, against 71% across West Virginia; 24% are mobile homes. The homes are older than West Virginia's as a whole: half were built before 1959 (1976 for West Virginia), and 52% date from before 1960. Owners live in 76% of the occupied homes (West Virginia: 74%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | McDowell County | West Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 9,380 | 859,653 |
| Detached houses | 70% | 71% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 2% | 8% |
| Mobile homes | 24% | 14% |
| Built before 1960 | 52% | 33% |
| Built since 2000 | 8% | 18% |
| Middle year built | 1959 | 1976 |
| Owner-occupied | 76% | 74% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.