I Didn’t Think My Region Had Radon

Why Almost Everyone Thinks This and Why It Is Usually Wrong

Almost everyone who finds radon in their home says the same thing first.

“I didn’t think we had radon here.”

It does not matter if the house is in Texas, Florida, California, the Southeast, the Pacific Northwest, or a coastal city. People are convinced radon is something that happens somewhere else. Somewhere colder. Somewhere with basements. Somewhere older. Somewhere more rural. Somewhere more geological.

Radon has somehow become the environmental version of gossip that only applies to other people.

And that assumption is one of the biggest reasons radon goes undetected.

The idea that radon only exists in certain regions did not come out of nowhere. Radon maps exist, and they are widely shared. They divide the country into zones labeled low, moderate, or high potential. Over time, those maps turned into shorthand. High zone means worry. Low zone means relax.

The problem is that radon maps describe probability, not individual homes.

They are based on broad geological data and large scale sampling. They cannot account for what is happening under a specific house, with its specific soil composition, foundation design, airflow patterns, and pressure dynamics.

But that nuance gets lost. What people hear is “your area is low risk.” What they translate is “you do not need to test.”

Radon comes from uranium in soil and rock. Uranium exists almost everywhere, just in different concentrations. That means radon generation is not limited to one region or climate.

What actually determines radon levels inside a home is not just geology. It is how radon moves and how buildings interact with the ground.

Two houses on the same street can have radically different radon levels. One can test low. The other can test high. This happens all the time.

So when someone says “we do not have radon here,” what they really mean is “we assume the average applies to us personally.”

Radon does not care about averages.

Warm climate states are especially prone to radon denial. The logic goes something like this. No basement. Windows open more often. No snow. No frozen ground. Therefore no radon.

Except radon does not require basements. Slab foundations can absolutely accumulate radon. Crawl spaces can act like radon reservoirs. Open windows do not eliminate radon if pressure dynamics are still pulling soil gas inside.

In some warm regions, homes are built tightly for energy efficiency. That reduces ventilation. That can actually increase radon accumulation.

The irony is that people in these regions test less often because they assume they are safe.

Another extremely common belief is that new construction does not have radon. This one shows up constantly in real estate conversations.

New homes are airtight. New homes have sealed foundations. New homes meet modern codes.

And yet, new homes can test high for radon.

Tight construction reduces air exchange. Reduced air exchange means radon that enters has fewer pathways out. Pressure differentials created by HVAC systems can actively draw radon inside.

Some of the highest radon readings are found in newer homes, not older ones.

This surprises people every time.

Radon movement depends on soil permeability. Sandy soils allow gas to move easily. Clay soils can trap gas and redirect it laterally. Fractured rock creates direct pathways.

These features can change within very short distances. A house built over a fracture zone can behave very differently from the one next door.

Radon maps cannot capture this level of detail. They are not meant to.

But homeowners treat them like a personal diagnosis.

People look for reassurance in the wrong places. No smell. No symptoms. No visible damage. No warnings from neighbors.

Radon gives none of those signals.

It does not make you feel sick. It does not cause headaches. It does not make the air feel stale. It does not announce itself.

So people default to assumption instead of measurement.

And once someone believes radon is not a concern where they live, that belief sticks hard.

Someone buys a house. The inspection does not include radon testing. No one brings it up. The region is considered low risk. Years go by.

Later, a neighbor tests and finds elevated levels. Or a real estate transaction triggers a test. Or someone buys a radon kit on a whim.

The result comes back high.

The reaction is disbelief, not panic. People question the test. They assume it must be wrong. They retest somewhere else. Sometimes they ignore it entirely.

The story almost always starts with “I didn’t think this was an issue here.”

Why Testing Is the Only Thing That Matters

Radon does not announce itself geographically. It announces itself numerically. Testing does not care about assumptions. It measures what is actually happening inside the home.

This is why health agencies say the same thing over and over again. Test every home. Test regardless of location. Test even if your neighbor tested low. Test even if the house is new. At home screening tools like the Detekt Home radon test exist for exactly this reason. They remove the guesswork and replace it with data. Not fear. Not gossip. Not regional myths. Data.

Radon related lung cancer does not come with a warning label that says where the exposure happened. It shows up decades later with no clear trail. By the time symptoms appear, testing feels irrelevant. The opportunity for prevention has already passed. This is why the “not in my region” belief matters. It delays testing. It delays awareness. It delays mitigation when it is needed.

And all of that happens quietly.

The Bottom Line

Radon is not a regional personality trait. It is a naturally occurring gas that behaves according to physics, geology, and building science.

If there is one consistent pattern in radon testing, it is this. The people who are most surprised by high results are the ones who were most confident they were safe.

If you hear yourself saying “we don’t have radon here,” you are not alone. Almost everyone says it.

That does not make it true.

By Chris M., PhD