Wareham has the thinnest testing coverage in this service area: 60.8 tests per 1,000 occupied homes, against 221.1 in Duxbury. Of the 625 tests that do exist, 89 came back at or above 4.0 pCi/L and the highest on record is 9.7.
Wareham's maximum reading is the lowest of any town here, and that number deserves a caveat rather than a victory lap.
Massachusetts DPH publishes every radon test result reported in the state by town. Here is what 625 Wareham tests from 2015 through 2024 look like.
| Measure | Wareham, MA | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Tests on record, 2015-2024 | 625 | The sample this table is built on |
| Median result | 1.5 pCi/L | Half of Wareham homes tested came in below this |
| Geometric mean | 1.5 pCi/L | The typical result, with outliers damped |
| Tests at or above 4.0 pCi/L | 89 (14.2%) | EPA says fix the house at this level |
| Tests between 2.0 and 4.0 | 24.2% | EPA says consider fixing |
| Tests below 2.0 | 61.6% | No action recommended |
| Highest single result on record | 9.7 pCi/L | One house, not the town, but it was somebody's house |
| Tests per 1,000 occupied homes | 60.8 | How thoroughly the town has actually been checked |
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health radon testing data, town-level export, 2015-2024.
Extreme radon readings are rare everywhere. Plymouth's 182.9 turned up in a sample of 4,918 tests. Kingston's 121.7 turned up in 961. Wareham has 625 tests on record, so the absence of a large outlier here is partly a statement about how much looking has been done.
What the Wareham record does support is the ordinary case: a median of 1.5 pCi/L, 61.6% of tests below 2.0, and roughly one house in seven at or above the action level. That last figure is close to Marshfield's and Halifax's, and it is not low enough to skip a test.
Wareham also sits at the southern edge of the regular route, between the cranberry bogs and the canal, with a housing mix that runs from year-round capes to converted seasonal cottages on crawlspaces. Crawlspace houses need a sealed membrane rather than a slab penetration, and they get quoted differently.
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 Wareham 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 Wareham 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 625 Wareham tests on record from 2015 through 2024, 14.2% came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level, and another 24.2% landed between 2.0 and 4.0. The town median is 1.5 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.
The tests on record look moderate: a 1.5 pCi/L median and about one house in seven at or above 4.0. But Wareham has been tested at 61 tests per 1,000 homes, the lowest rate in this service area, so the record describes a small slice of the town's housing stock.
One call covers testing, mitigation, well-water treatment and system repair anywhere in Wareham 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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