The Vermont Department of Health Laboratory offers two different types of environmental radiological testing.
Radon in air testing is available to the public, while the laboratory also works with state partnerships to test other environmental samples.
The Vermont Department of Health Laboratory recommends testing your home for radon in the air. We offer long, medium and short term test kits. We recommend that you test through at least part of a heating season. The longer the test is run, the more accurate the result will be. Learn more in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) guidance, Citizen’s Guide to Radon.
- Real estate transactions: Perform a short-term test (Kit RF). This kit includes two devices to be placed side by side for 2 – 7 days. To find out more about radon testing for real estate transactions, check out the EPA’s Buyer’s and Seller’s Guide to Radon.
- All other tests: Perform a long term (3 – 12 months, Kit RH) or medium term (1-3 months, Kit RG) test. Testing during part of a heating season will produce more accurate results.
If you have well water and have received a radon in air test (Kit RC) result of greater than 4 pCi/L (EPA Action Level), consider testing for radon in water.
- Sampling instructions for all kits mentioned above (Kit RF, Kit RH, Kit RG, or Kit RC).
- To request a kit by mail, view/print out our order form and send in with form of payment.
- Kits can also be purchased in person or over the phone; visit our Contact Us and Directions page for more information.
Visit the Vermont Radon Program’s webpage.
Information from EPA about radon in air mitigation can be found in the EPA’s document Citizen’s Guide to Radon Reduction 2013.
The Vermont Department of Health performs radiological testing on environmental samples in support of the partnership between the Radiological and Toxicological Sciences Program and the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Multiple sample types are tested for both naturally occurring and man-made radioactive materials.
Sample types include:
- Water
- Soil/Sediment
- Milk
- Vegetation
- Fish
- Air
The Laboratory has detection capabilities for alpha, beta and gamma emitters, including tritium as well as radioactive iodine and cesium. The Laboratory does not accept samples from members of the public for this type of testing.
Learn more about the Radiological and Toxicological Sciences Program including Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant monitoring.