Radon Mitigation in Dover Township, PA
Updated
PA DEP has 4,041 home radon tests on record from the ZIP code that cover Dover Township (17315). 44.2% came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level, against 52.5% for York County as a whole. That is lower than the county as a whole, but it is still close to half of all tests. A standard system here typically costs $800 to $1,500. The only way to know about one house is to test it.
Dover Township sits northwest of York and surrounds Dover borough. It grew fast between 1960 and 1980 and has kept building since: 31% of its homes date from 2000 or later. Its ZIP code, 17315, has more than 4,000 tests on record and a median of 3.3 pCi/L. That is below the county, but 44% of tests still came back at or above the action level.
What the PA DEP test records show for Dover Township
ZIP 17315 covers 91% of Dover Township's land, so these numbers are about as local as public radon data gets.
| ZIP | Tests | Median pCi/L | 4+ pCi/L | 10+ | 20+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17315 | 4,041 | 3.3 | 44.2% | 15.7% | 5% |
| York County | 98,845 | 4.3 | 52.5% | 26.8% | 13.1% |
Look past the median to the high end. One test in 20 here came in at 20 pCi/L or more, five times the action level, and the highest reading on record is 547 pCi/L. Neighboring houses can differ by a factor of ten, so none of this tells you what your house is. It tells you the odds are high enough that a $15 to $30 test kit is worth buying.
Tests people chose to run, not a random survey. Details on the York County radon levels page.
Basement readings versus first-floor readings
In ZIP 17315, basement tests have a median of 3.8 pCi/L, while tests taken on the first floor have a median of 1.9 pCi/L (532 first-floor tests). The basement number runs 2.0 times the first-floor number, which is the usual pattern: radon comes up from the soil, so it is strongest at the lowest level and gets diluted as it moves up through the house.
Radon results by decade in ZIP 17315
| Decade tested | Tests | Median pCi/L | 4+ pCi/L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 346 | 3.1 | 41.6% |
| 2000s | 906 | 3.6 | 45.6% |
| 2010s | 1,937 | 3.5 | 46% |
| 2020s | 824 | 2.8 | 39.3% |
The share peaked in the 2010s at 46% and sits at 39.3% for tests since 2020. That is a small move, well within what you'd expect from a shifting mix of home-sale tests and retests. 824 tests have been logged in 17315 since 2020, so people here are still testing.
The ground under Dover Township
Dover is in the Gettysburg-Newark Lowland, the belt that covers the northern third of York County. The bedrock here is Triassic red and gray shale, siltstone and sandstone of the Gettysburg Formation, per PA DCNR, rather than the limestone or schist found further south.
The whole northern Triassic belt tests lower than the rest of the county. Dover, Newberry, Fairview and Carroll townships all sit between 41% and 47% of tests at or above the action level, against 55% to 66% in the southern townships and boroughs on this site. Lower is still not low: roughly four houses in ten.
Housing in Dover Township and what it means for a system
Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024:
| Dover Township | York County | |
|---|---|---|
| Homes (housing units) | 9,834 | 189,857 |
| Median year built | 1988 | 1976 |
| Built before 1940 | 7% | 18.3% |
| Built before 1980 | 38.8% | 54.8% |
| Built 2000 or later | 31.2% | 20.6% |
| Single-family detached | 63.1% | 64.3% |
| Attached (rowhome, townhouse) | 20.8% | 17.1% |
| Mobile homes | 8.2% | 4.1% |
| Owner-occupied | 85.6% | 76.3% |
About 20.8% of homes here are attached: rowhomes, twins and townhouses. A shared wall does not stop radon, and neither does a neighbor's system, so each unit needs its own test. The tricky part is pipe routing, since there is often no side yard to run the vent up. Our rowhome radon guide covers how installers handle it.
8.2% of homes in Dover Township are mobile or manufactured homes, well above the county's 4.1%. Those sit over a crawlspace or skirted pad rather than a basement, and the fix is different: a sealed membrane over the soil with suction under it. See crawlspace radon for what that involves.
31.2% of the homes here were built in 2000 or later, one of the higher shares in the county. New construction is not radon-proof. A tight modern house can hold radon in as well as it holds heat in. Some builders rough in a passive vent pipe during construction, which makes a later active system cheaper, so check for a capped pipe in the basement. More on that in radon in new construction.
Cost-wise, a newer house with a passive pipe already roughed in can come in under the usual $800 to $1,500, since the installer mostly adds a fan and a gauge. Full ranges on the cost page.
Where we work in Dover Township
That covers Weigelstown and the area around Dover borough. Route 74 (Carlisle Road) and Route 921 run through the township. Public schools here are part of the Dover Area School District. The township was incorporated in 1747, and Pettit's Ford is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Installers must hold a PA DEP radon mitigation certification (how to check), and permit questions go to the township office at www.dovertownship.org.
Common questions
Is radon a problem in Dover Township?
Yes. PA DEP has 4,041 tests on record from the ZIP code covering Dover Township, and 44.2% of them came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level. 5% were at 20 pCi/L or more. The county-wide rate is 52.5%.
What is the average radon level in ZIP 17315?
The median of 4,041 PA DEP tests in ZIP 17315 is 3.3 pCi/L and the mean is 6.4 pCi/L. The top reading on record there is 547 pCi/L.
Nearby
West Manchester Township 50.5%, Manchester Township 51.3%, Newberry Township 41.8%, Carroll Township 47.4%. Share of PA DEP tests at or above 4.0 pCi/L, against 44.2% here.
Have a test result from Dover Township?
Send us the number and the foundation type, or call and read it out.
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