Middleborough has the third-highest rate of elevated radon results in this service area and the second-lowest rate of testing. Of 788 tests, 160 hit 4.0 pCi/L or higher, and the town records just 81 tests per 1,000 homes.
Put those two numbers next to each other and Middleborough is the most under-checked town on this list relative to what its results show.
Massachusetts DPH publishes every radon test result reported in the state by town. Here is what 788 Middleborough tests from 2015 through 2024 look like.
| Measure | Middleborough, MA | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Tests on record, 2015-2024 | 788 | The sample this table is built on |
| Median result | 2 pCi/L | Half of Middleborough homes tested came in below this |
| Geometric mean | 2.1 pCi/L | The typical result, with outliers damped |
| Tests at or above 4.0 pCi/L | 160 (20.3%) | EPA says fix the house at this level |
| Tests between 2.0 and 4.0 | 32.1% | EPA says consider fixing |
| Tests below 2.0 | 47.6% | No action recommended |
| Highest single result on record | 35.8 pCi/L | One house, not the town, but it was somebody's house |
| Tests per 1,000 occupied homes | 81 | How thoroughly the town has actually been checked |
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health radon testing data, town-level export, 2015-2024.
Duxbury runs 221 tests per 1,000 occupied homes and finds 16.4% at or above the action level. Middleborough runs 81 per 1,000 and finds 20.3%. The town with the worse results is checking itself at roughly a third of the rate.
There is no mystery in that gap. Testing rates track real estate turnover and local awareness more than they track geology, and Middleborough turns over less often than the coastal towns north of it. The radon underneath does not care how many houses have changed hands.
If the tested fifth of Middleborough is running at 20.3% above the action line, the untested majority is unlikely to be meaningfully different. The highest reading on record here is 35.8 pCi/L, roughly nine times the level at which the EPA says to fix the house.
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 Middleborough 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 Middleborough 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 788 Middleborough tests on record from 2015 through 2024, 20.3% came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level, and another 32.1% landed between 2.0 and 4.0. The town median is 2 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.
Testing rates follow home sales and local awareness, and Middleborough turns over less often than the coastal towns nearby. The state record shows 81 tests per 1,000 occupied homes here against 221 in Duxbury. The results that do exist are worse, not better, which is the argument for testing rather than against it.
One call covers testing, mitigation, well-water treatment and system repair anywhere in Middleborough 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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