Radon Mitigation in Newberry Township, PA
Updated
PA DEP has 3,939 home radon tests on record from the ZIP codes that cover Newberry Township (17370, 17319). 41.8% 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.
Newberry Township sits in the far north of the county along the Susquehanna, between Etters, Goldsboro and York Haven, and it surrounds Lewisberry. About 94% of its homes are owner-occupied, and one home in six is a mobile home, much more than the county average of about one in twenty-five. Its ZIP codes, 17370 and 17319, test among the lowest in the county, near 41% at or above the action level.
What the PA DEP test records show for Newberry Township
ZIP codes don't follow township lines, so the 2 ZIP codes below also take in some homes just outside Newberry Township.
| ZIP | Tests | Median pCi/L | 4+ pCi/L | 10+ | 20+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17370 | 1,034 | 3 | 40.8% | 14.2% | 4.7% |
| 17319 | 2,905 | 3.2 | 42.1% | 16.6% | 6.4% |
| York County | 98,845 | 4.3 | 52.5% | 26.8% | 13.1% |
- ZIP 17370 (about 42% of Newberry Township's land): median 3 pCi/L across 1,034 tests, 4.7% at 20 or higher, top reading 176. Basement median 3.3, first floor 1.6.
- ZIP 17319 (about 39% of Newberry Township's land): median 3.2 pCi/L across 2,905 tests, 6.4% at 20 or higher, top reading 343. Basement median 3.4, first floor 2.1.
The spread inside Newberry Township runs from 40.8% of tests high in 17370 to 42.1% in 17319.
Half of the story is the median. The other half is the tail: 16% of tests here were 10 pCi/L or higher and 6% were 20 or higher. The top reading on record in these ZIP codes is 343 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 17370, basement tests have a median of 3.3 pCi/L, while tests taken on the first floor have a median of 1.6 pCi/L (100 first-floor tests). The basement number runs 2.1 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 17370
| Decade tested | Tests | Median pCi/L | 4+ pCi/L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 117 | 2.9 | 41.9% |
| 2000s | 278 | 3.3 | 41% |
| 2010s | 439 | 3 | 40.3% |
| 2020s | 193 | 3.1 | 41.5% |
The share peaked in the 1990s at 41.9% and sits at 41.5% 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. 193 tests have been logged in 17370 since 2020, so people here are still testing.
The ground under Newberry Township
Newberry is in the Gettysburg-Newark Lowland, on Triassic red shale, siltstone and sandstone of the Gettysburg Formation (PA DCNR). This rock family carries less radon than the schists of southern York County, and the test data reflects that.
Lower still means roughly two houses in five. In ZIP 17319, 6% of tests reached 20 pCi/L or more, which is not rare when you count a few thousand houses.
Housing in Newberry Township and what it means for a system
Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024:
| Newberry Township | York County | |
|---|---|---|
| Homes (housing units) | 6,396 | 189,857 |
| Median year built | 1984 | 1976 |
| Built before 1940 | 8.2% | 18.3% |
| Built before 1980 | 42.5% | 54.8% |
| Built 2000 or later | 21.4% | 20.6% |
| Single-family detached | 73.3% | 64.3% |
| Attached (rowhome, townhouse) | 8.1% | 17.1% |
| Mobile homes | 16.7% | 4.1% |
| Owner-occupied | 94.4% | 76.3% |
16.7% of homes in Newberry 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.
73.3% of homes in Newberry Township are single-family detached. A detached house with a basement is the easiest layout to mitigate: one suction point through the slab, a fan outside or in the garage, and a vent above the roof line. It is the standard sub-slab depressurization job covered step by step on our mitigation process page, and it usually lands in the middle of the cost range.
Cost-wise, a basement house here is the standard $800 to $1,500 job, while a mobile home or crawlspace house usually runs $1,500 to $3,000 because of the membrane work. Full ranges on the cost page.
Where we work in Newberry Township
That covers Newberrytown, Yocumtown, Goldsboro, York Haven, Cly, Valley Green and the area around Lewisberry. Interstate 83, Route 262 and Route 382 run through the township. Public schools here are part of the West Shore School District, with the southeastern corner in Northeastern York. The Susquehanna forms the township's eastern edge, and the Hammersly-Strominger House (1790) is on the National Register.
Installers must hold a PA DEP radon mitigation certification (how to check), and permit questions go to the township office at newberrytwp.com.
Common questions
Is radon a problem in Newberry Township?
Yes. PA DEP has 3,939 tests on record from the ZIP codes covering Newberry Township, and 41.8% of them came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level. 6% were at 20 pCi/L or more. The county-wide rate is 52.5%.
What is the average radon level in ZIP 17370?
The median of 1,034 PA DEP tests in ZIP 17370 is 3 pCi/L and the mean is 6.2 pCi/L. A mean that far above the median means a long tail of very high readings, topping out at 176 pCi/L.
How do you mitigate radon in a mobile home?
Most mobile homes sit over a crawlspace or skirted pad, so there is no slab to drill through. The fix is a sealed plastic membrane over the soil with a suction pipe under it, or in some cases sealing and ventilating the skirted space. See crawlspace radon.
Nearby
Fairview Township 43.4%, East Manchester Township 50.6%, Dover Township 44.2%. Share of PA DEP tests at or above 4.0 pCi/L, against 41.8% here.
Have a test result from Newberry Township?
Send us the number and the foundation type, or call and read it out.
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