Is Kanawha County, WV a radon risk area?

EPA places Kanawha County in Zone 3 - Low Potential — a predicted county-wide average indoor radon level below 2 pCi/L, based on the geology, soil and aerial radioactivity data behind EPA's national map. Kanawha County sits at the 28th percentile nationally for radon potential — above 28 of every 100 rated counties.

Kanawha County by the numbers

About 173,906 people live in Kanawha County, West Virginia, spread over 901.738 square miles. Averaged across its land area, Kanawha County runs about 193 people per square mile. Rank 151 by population within its EPA zone puts Kanawha County at the 85th percentile among zone peers. EPA's geology-based Region 3 groups Kanawha County with 244 other counties nationally sharing its underlying rock and soil profile.

Zone vs. an actual test

A Zone 3 county like Kanawha County is predicted closer to the 0.4 pCi/L typical outdoors than to EPA's 4 pCi/L action level. Even at Zone 3, Kanawha County homes are not guaranteed a low reading — zone is a county-wide average, and EPA recommends testing every home regardless of zone.

Testing and mitigation in Kanawha County

Nothing about Kanawha County's EPA zone changes the mitigation number: $800–$2,500 nationally (around $1,200 typical), set by the house's foundation rather than the county it sits in — and only relevant once a test actually clears 4 pCi/L.

Find West Virginia's state radon program

Kanawha County's test kit answers today; a Airthings radon monitor keeps answering for Kanawha County over time. Affiliate link, RadonZoneCheck earns a commission there, at no extra cost to you. Code RADONZONE-10OFF takes 10% off at checkout.

More on how this number was built

Every figure on this page traces to EPA's own Map of Radon Zones and Census data, documented in the methodology guide. Whatever zone Kanawha County carries, the zone explainer covers what it does and doesn't tell you about any one house.