Columbus January Radon Action Month: the homeowner checklist

What Radon Action Month is

EPA designated January as National Radon Action Month in the late 1990s, timed to heating-season radon equilibrium (when readings are at their seasonal high in Columbus and other northern-tier cities) for maximum-information testing. The Ohio Department of Health joined the program early and has run a Columbus-area kit-distribution campaign nearly every January since.

The Columbus-area program in recent years has worked like this. ODH allocates a set number of free or subsidized short-term test kits to each county health department. Those county departments distribute the kits through walk-in pickup, mail-order request, or partner libraries during the January 1 to January 31 window. Columbus Public Health and Franklin County Public Health typically distribute through their main offices and several branch and library locations. Delaware Public Health District, Licking County Health Department, and Fairfield Department of Health have similar pickup networks for the suburban counties.

The 2027 round checklist (December 2026 prep)

If you want to take advantage of the 2027 Radon Action Month round, the prep work starts in mid-December 2026.

1. Find your county's pickup window. ODH announces the kit distribution dates in mid-December each year. Columbus Public Health, Franklin County Public Health, Delaware Public Health District, and Licking County Health Department publish to their respective sites. Check around December 15-20 for current-year dates.

2. Decide whether you want a free kit or a professional test. The free hardware-store-style charcoal canister kit is appropriate for screening-level information. If you are buying or selling a home, you need a professional continuous radon monitor (CRM) test under ANSI/AARST MAH-2023 closed-house conditions; the free kit does not meet lender requirements for real-estate transactions.

3. Plan the test location. Place the kit in the lowest livable level of the home, 20+ inches off the floor, in a position not affected by drafts, exterior doors, or sources of heat. Closed-house conditions: windows and exterior doors closed for 12 hours before the test starts and during the test period; HVAC running on normal mode.

4. Pick a 48 to 72-hour window during heating season. Mid-January through late February is ideal. The kit measures radon over the deployment window; longer windows produce more-averaged results. Most charcoal-canister kits are designed for 48 to 96-hour deployments.

5. Mail the kit back per instructions. Most ODH-distributed kits include a pre-paid mailing envelope to the analyzing lab. Results return by mail in 5-7 business days.

What to do with the result

Three result tiers.

Below 2.0 pCi/L. Below EPA's "consider mitigation" threshold. Continue testing every 2 years per EPA cadence. No action needed.

2.0 to 4.0 pCi/L. EPA "consider mitigation" range. Household-specific factors matter: children sleeping in lower levels, smokers in the home, basement workshop hours. If any of those apply, mitigation is the right move. If not, you can defer with annual monitoring.

Above 4.0 pCi/L. EPA action level exceeded. Mitigate.

For households in the 2.0-4.0 range that want a more-defensible answer before committing to mitigation, the right next step is a long-term test (90-day alpha-track) that integrates over winter and produces a true annual-average reading. Cost: $30-$50 at any hardware store.

Columbus neighborhood patterns to expect

Based on Columbus testing history across the past two decades.

Pre-1950 stone-basement housing in Clintonville, Bexley, Grandview Heights, Old Worthington, German Village: Average pre-mitigation reading 6-12 pCi/L. About 60-70 percent of homes test above the EPA action level. Mitigation almost always recommended.

Mid-century 1950s-1980s ranches and split-levels in Upper Arlington, Gahanna, Whitehall, Reynoldsburg: Average 3-6 pCi/L. About 40-50 percent test above action level. Mitigation roughly half the time.

Post-1995 subdivisions in Dublin, Hilliard, Powell, Lewis Center: Average 1.5-4 pCi/L. About 20-30 percent test above action level. Many homes already have passive RRNC radon stacks installed during construction; activation (adding a fan) is the typical fix when needed.

Outlying limestone-area town stock in Granville, Lancaster, Delaware: Older downtown housing tracks the higher Franklin County patterns because of shared limestone geology. Similar age stratification to the metro core.

What credentialed mitigation costs in Columbus (current as of 2026)

For homes that test above 4.0 pCi/L and need active mitigation:

| Foundation type | Typical cost | |---|---| | Slab on grade | $1,200 to $1,800 | | Full basement (concrete) | $1,500 to $2,400 | | Full basement (stone, pre-1950) | $1,800 to $2,800 (more sealing scope) | | Crawl space (sub-membrane depressurization) | $1,800 to $3,500 | | Multi-zone (two suction points) | $2,800 to $4,200 |

Pricing has been stable across Greater Columbus for 3-4 years. Quotes from credentialed mitigators rarely vary more than 10-15 percent on the same scope.

What we do during Radon Action Month

We run a few extra services during the January-March window when test kits surface above-action-level readings.

• Same-day phone consultations for any positive result from an ODH-distributed kit (we are usually backed up with calls in mid-January).
• Free in-home assessments for any home that tests above 4.0 pCi/L; on-site visit produces a written fixed-price quote good for 30 days.
• Real-estate-driven priority scheduling for any home under contract with a closing date in the next 30 days.

Free phone consultations include a 10-minute scope triage and a price range. If your January 2027 result lands above the action level, call our dispatch directly.