Halifax has the narrowest spread of radon results in this service area. Across 347 tests from 2015 through 2024, 47 came back at or above 4.0 pCi/L, and the highest single result on record is 11.1 pCi/L, lower than any town here except Wareham.
A tight distribution is useful information. It means Halifax results are more predictable than Plymouth's, and it also means a high reading here has a cause worth finding.
Massachusetts DPH publishes every radon test result reported in the state by town. Here is what 347 Halifax tests from 2015 through 2024 look like.
| Measure | Halifax, MA | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Tests on record, 2015-2024 | 347 | The sample this table is built on |
| Median result | 1.7 pCi/L | Half of Halifax homes tested came in below this |
| Geometric mean | 1.7 pCi/L | The typical result, with outliers damped |
| Tests at or above 4.0 pCi/L | 47 (13.5%) | EPA says fix the house at this level |
| Tests between 2.0 and 4.0 | 30% | EPA says consider fixing |
| Tests below 2.0 | 56.5% | No action recommended |
| Highest single result on record | 11.1 pCi/L | One house, not the town, but it was somebody's house |
| Tests per 1,000 occupied homes | 118.4 | How thoroughly the town has actually been checked |
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health radon testing data, town-level export, 2015-2024.
Halifax houses sit on large rural lots over the same glacial deposits that run under Plympton and Kingston, and most of them draw from a private well. The combination that produces elevated readings in this county is soil gas plus a full basement plus well water, and Halifax has all three in quantity.
The absence of a 100-plus outlier in the Halifax record does not mean the town is safe at every address. It means that of the houses tested so far, none has landed in the extreme range. With 118 tests per 1,000 occupied homes, most Halifax houses have never been checked at all.
When a Halifax reading does come back at or above the action line, the fix is ordinary: a sealed suction point through the basement slab, an inline fan sized to the footprint, a vent run above the roofline, and a retest that proves the number dropped. One day of work in most houses.
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 Halifax 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 Halifax 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 347 Halifax tests on record from 2015 through 2024, 13.5% came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level, and another 30% landed between 2.0 and 4.0. The town median is 1.7 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.
Lower than Plymouth or Kingston, and more predictable, but not low enough to skip. Roughly one Halifax test in seven comes back at or above 4.0 pCi/L. The town has also only been tested at about 118 tests per 1,000 homes, so the record covers a minority of the housing stock.
One call covers testing, mitigation, well-water treatment and system repair anywhere in Halifax 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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