Protect Your Family From Radon: A Guide for New York State Residents

Your home could contain high levels of radon

You may live in an area where many homes have high levels of radon. Many of your neighbors have already tested their homes. If you haven't already tested your home, do it now.

High Radon Area Counties

  • Albany
  • Allegany
  • Broome
  • Cattaraugus
  • Cayuga
  • Chautauqua
  • Chemung
  • Chenango
  • Columbia
  • Cortland
  • Delaware
  • Dutchess
  • Erie
  • Genesee
  • Greene
  • Herkimer
  • Lewis
  • Livingston
  • Madison
  • Montgomery
  • Oneida
  • Onondaga
  • Ontario
  • Orange
  • Otsego
  • Putnam
  • Rensselaer
  • Saratoga
  • Schenectady
  • Schoharie
  • Schuyler
  • Steuben
  • Sullivan
  • Tioga
  • Tompkins
  • Ulster
  • Washington
  • Wayne
  • Wyoming
  • Yates

You must test to find out if you have a radon problem

The only way to tell if your house has a radon problem is to test. Testing for radon is easy and it does not cost a lot of money. You may buy a kit from the New York State Health Department, the hardware store, or the hardware section of your local department store. Many county health departments also have test kits. Make sure the kit meets non-federal radon proficiency program requirements.

Don't put off testing

You may test your home at any time, but it is better to test in the winter when all of your windows are closed. Remember, the longer you wait, the longer you and your family may be breathing high levels of radon. If you are buying a new home, make sure your home is tested before you buy it.

You can protect your family from radon

If your home does have a high level of radon, there are things that can be done to fix the problem. Call the New York State Health Department for a list of radon contractors in your area.

Learn more about radon

For more information about radon or testing and fixing your home, contact the New York State Health Department's Radon Program.

Phone: 1-800-458-1158, ext. 27556 or 518-402-7556
Email: radon@health.state.ny.us
Web site: Radon Information

Any home can have elevated radon levels

It doesn't matter if your home is old or new or if it has a basement or a slab. Any home can have high radon levels. Radon is a radioactive gas that is made naturally in the soil. You can't smell it or see it, but it can leak into your home. Radon can leak through cracks in your basement or slab, through the dirt floor of your crawl space, or through openings around your sump pump. Radon may also enter your home from the water or building materials.

Major Radon Entry Routes

picture of radon entry routes into home

Radon may be a health risk for you and your family

As you know, smoking can cause lung cancer. Breathing radon can also cause lung cancer. If you smoke and breathe high levels of radon, you are even more likely to get lung cancer. If you quit smoking, your chance of getting lung cancer from breathing radon will be less.

Radon Risk*
Radon Level If 1,000 people who smoked were exposed to this level over a lifetime… If 1,000 people who never smoked were exposed to this level over a lifetime…
20 pCi/L About 260 people could get lung cancer About 36 people could get lung cancer
4 pCi/L About 62 people could get lung cancer About 7 people could get lung cancer
0.4 pCi/L About 3 people could get lung cancer Less than 1 person could get lung cancer

* Source: US EPA 402-K-02-006, Revised September 2005, "A Citizen's Guide to Radon: The Guide to Protecting Yourself and Your Family from Radon."