Radon testing that treats Washington County like Zone 1

A radon test is a measurement, not a vibe. We place a device in the lowest room you actually use, we close the house the way the protocol says, and we give you a number with a start time and an end time. That is the whole product. If you wanted a scare, there are better websites.

Why test here at all

Washington County sits in EPA Zone 1. Predicted indoor averages for the county sit above 4 pCi/L, which is the EPA action level. Sullivan County (Kingsport and Bristol TN) is Zone 1 too. Carter and Unicoi, ten minutes toward the mountains, are Zone 2. The map is a targeting tool. It is not a reading for your hallway.

The Ridge-and-Valley under us is karst: folded limestone and dolomite, solution openings, and shale that can hold a little uranium. The Chattanooga Shale is the famous one in Tennessee geology writeups. You do not need to name the formation to need a test. You need to know the house can pull soil gas through a crawl, a slab cut, or a hillside basement wall.

TDEC says about one in four homes that send back a free kit come in above 4 pCi/L. That is a self-selected pile of worried people, not a census of every ranch in Boones Creek. It is still enough to stop guessing.

What we actually do on a test

We follow professional measurement practice, the same family of rules you will hear called AARST or EPA protocol:

• Closed-house conditions. Windows shut. Big exhaust fans off. Normal coming and going is fine. Hosting a cookout with the slider open is not.
• Device in the lowest lived-in level. Not the garage. Not a crawl you never enter. Not on a dryer.
• Twenty inches or more off the floor, away from a supply register, a sump blast, or a bathroom fan.
• Short-term windows that actually last the hours on the instructions, usually two days or more for a continuous monitor.

If you live in the house and you just want a first look, Tennessee will mail a free charcoal kit. Order it from the Tennessee Radon Program, run it 3 to 5 days, and mail it back the day you pull it. The lab is picky about late kits for a reason. A kit on a sunny windowsill, or a kit that sat in a truck for a week, is a story, not data.

A professional test costs more than a free kit because someone is responsible for placement, timing, and the writeup. Typical professional air tests in this market often land in the $125 to $250 range depending on a continuous monitor versus a simpler device, travel, and whether the house is vacant. That is a market range, not a bid. Request a quote with the town and whether you're buying.

Occupied home versus a deal

If you already sleep there, a careful kit or a professional short-term test is enough to decide whether to mitigate. If the first number is high, we confirm before we cut a slab. If it's low, we still tell you to retest after a remodel or every couple of years. Radon is not a one-and-done virus. It's a soil-gas habit.

If a contract is involved, skip the honor-system kit. The other side wants a continuous radon monitor, a closed-house affidavit, and a report that shows the hours. That is the real estate testing page.

What a number means

EPA says fix at 4 pCi/L and think hard between 2 and 4. WHO talks about a lower long-term target. We will not pick a fight with your doctor on a marketing page. We will say this: the action level is a policy line, not a cliff. A 3.8 and a 4.2 are the same conversation. A 12 is a different one. We design the system for the house, then we retest.

We will not invent a reading from your zip code, your well, or this website's risk tool. The tool explains geology. A device in the room explains the air.

Credentials, because Tennessee does not license this

Tennessee does not issue a state radon measurement license. TDEC points people to NRPP and NRSB. Ask us for the credential. Look it up on the directory. If a bidder cannot show one, you are hiring a handy person with a charcoal bag.

Where we test

Johnson City, Jonesborough, Gray, Boones Creek, Limestone, Telford, Fall Branch. Kingsport and Bristol TN. Elizabethton when the drive makes sense. Tell us the neighborhood and the foundation. We will tell you whether we can hit your date.