Carver houses usually have two radon pathways. Soil gas comes up through the slab, and dissolved radon comes in through the private well and releases in the shower. Of 441 air tests on record, 60 hit 4.0 pCi/L or higher.
Carver is also one of the least-tested towns on this list, at 94.9 tests per 1,000 occupied homes against Duxbury's 221.1. The low count is not evidence of low radon.
Massachusetts DPH publishes every radon test result reported in the state by town. Here is what 441 Carver tests from 2015 through 2024 look like.
| Measure | Carver, MA | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Tests on record, 2015-2024 | 441 | The sample this table is built on |
| Median result | 1.6 pCi/L | Half of Carver homes tested came in below this |
| Geometric mean | 1.6 pCi/L | The typical result, with outliers damped |
| Tests at or above 4.0 pCi/L | 60 (13.6%) | EPA says fix the house at this level |
| Tests between 2.0 and 4.0 | 27.9% | EPA says consider fixing |
| Tests below 2.0 | 58.5% | No action recommended |
| Highest single result on record | 20.5 pCi/L | One house, not the town, but it was somebody's house |
| Tests per 1,000 occupied homes | 94.9 | How thoroughly the town has actually been checked |
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health radon testing data, town-level export, 2015-2024.
Radon dissolves into groundwater as it moves through granite and glacial deposits, and a private well delivers it straight into the house. Every shower, dishwasher cycle and laundry load strips it out of the water and into the air you breathe. A house can pass an air test and still be adding radon through the tap every morning.
Water testing is a separate sample and a separate lab number, measured in picocuries per liter of water rather than air. The fix is separate too: an aeration system that agitates the water and vents the gas outside before it reaches a faucet, rather than the sub-slab fan that handles soil gas.
If you are on a Carver well and you have only ever tested your air, you have seen half your picture. The two tests together cost less than mitigating the wrong pathway.
The EPA Map of Radon Zones assigns Plymouth County to Zone 2, which predicts an average indoor screening level between 2.0 and 4.0 pCi/L. Barnstable, Bristol and Norfolk counties carry the same designation. Worcester, Middlesex and Essex are Zone 1.
The EPA prints a warning on the same map: it should not be used to decide whether an individual home gets tested, and all homes should be tested regardless of zone. The Carver numbers in the table above show why. A county-wide prediction cannot tell you what is under one address.
Massachusetts does not license radon contractors. The state's own guidance points homeowners at professionals certified by NRPP or NRSB, and those two certifications are the only credential worth asking about. Ask for the number, not the logo.
An active system puts a fan in the vent stack, and wiring that fan is electrical work, so the Carver wiring inspector is normally the one permit stop on a mitigation job. We pull it. Systems that vent above the roofline and discharge away from windows meet the EPA protocol the inspector is checking against.
State testing data says yes for a meaningful share of houses. Of 441 Carver tests on record from 2015 through 2024, 13.6% came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level, and another 27.9% landed between 2.0 and 4.0. The town median is 1.6 pCi/L.
Most single-family systems in this county run $1,200 to $2,500 installed, with a post-mitigation retest included. The price turns on foundation type and how many suction points the slab needs, which is why we quote in writing after seeing the house.
A short-term test needs a minimum of 48 hours under closed-house conditions. We use continuous monitors that log hourly, so a test placed Monday is reported Wednesday. Real estate deadlines get priority placement.
Nothing in Massachusetts law requires one, but radon testing is standard practice in home-sale inspections here, and buyers routinely ask for mitigation or a credit when a result comes back high. Testing inside the inspection window costs less than renegotiating after you own it.
If the house is on a private well, yes. Radon dissolves in groundwater and releases into the air every time you run a shower or a dishwasher, so a clean air test does not clear the water. It is a separate sample with a separate number, and the fix is an aeration system rather than a sub-slab fan.
One call covers testing, mitigation, well-water treatment and system repair anywhere in Carver and the rest of Plymouth County. Written quote first, retest after.
Sources: Massachusetts Department of Public Health radon testing data 2015-2024; EPA Map of Radon Zones, Massachusetts.
Radon Mitigation for Plymouth and Plymouth County. Test it. Fix it. Prove it's fixed.
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