Verified county average
4.3
pCi/L on Tennessee's 2022–2023 dashboard—just above EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level.1
01 / Snapshot
Three facts shape the county.
The risk signal, construction gap and thin professional market all point to the same practical conclusion.
New-home requirement
None
No jurisdiction examined has adopted the applicable IRC radon appendix. RRNC is optional countywide.3–8
Local certified providers
0
No NRPP- or NRSB-listed measurement professional was based in Giles County when checked.14–15
What this does not mean: 4.3 pCi/L is a county dashboard average, not a prediction for an individual house. Radon varies house to house; a test is the only way to know a home's level.
02 / Building codes
A countywide code gap.
The edition changes by jurisdiction. The outcome does not: none of the published code records makes radon-resistant new construction mandatory.
Unincorporated Giles County
OptionalEnforcement: State Fire Marshal · 2018 IRC + Appendix Q
The county has no building inspector; permits route through the County Clerk and state enforcement applies. The state package does not adopt 2018 IRC Appendix F, the radon appendix.3478
County records in 2021 and 2025 confirm there was no local inspection or planning office.
Pulaski
OptionalPublished code: 2021 IRC
Title 12 adopts the 2021 IRC and deletes Appendix AL, the permit-fee appendix. It does not explicitly adopt Appendix AF, the 2021 radon appendix.569
The exact adopting ordinance number and effective date for the 2021 edition are not stated in the codification.
Ardmore
OptionalPublished code: 1994 Standard Building Code · no IRC chapter
The available MTAS code has no residential-code chapter and no radon appendix. A 2011 status list marked Ardmore “OPT OUT.”1013
The published code appears stale; confirm whether a newer ordinance exists.
Minor Hill
OptionalPublished code: 1992 Model Energy Code only
No building code or IRC appears in published Title 12. A 2011 status list marked Minor Hill “OPT OUT.”1113
The published code does not establish a modern residential-code program.
Lynnville
OptionalPublished code: 2012 Property Maintenance Code only
No locally adopted IRC appears. The 2011 status list placed Lynnville in the state residential permit program, which now uses the state minimum without Appendix F.41213
Confirm that no newer local code ordinance has been passed.
03 / Risk profile
Average radon level
4.3
picocuries per liter
EPA action level: 4.0 pCi/L
Median1.5pCi/L
Maximum4.4pCi/L
Verified scope: the dashboard's “Year (All)” view covers 2022 and 2023 tests. The tooltip itself identified Giles County and returned average 4.3, median 1.5 and maximum 4.4.
Do not turn the regional charts into county statistics. The pre- and post-mitigation charts filter to the South Central Region, not to Giles County alone. The workbook also offered no CSV/data export.
The dashboard does not provide a county sample count here, and its tooltip does not clarify whether summary values combine pre- and post-mitigation tests. Treat the three values as a dated snapshot, not a long-term county baseline.
How do I find a certified radon professional in Giles County?
Tennessee doesn't license radon testers or mitigators, so national certification is the best way to check qualifications. The Tennessee Radon Program points residents to two directories: search them by ZIP code and widen the radius if nothing is listed nearby.
We don't recommend or rank companies. Before you hire, check the certification number in the directory yourself and ask for a follow-up test after any system is installed. Questions to ask a radon professional.
04 / Buyer brief
What a buyer should do.
Giles County's code landscape makes testing—not the age of the house or a seller's disclosure—the decisive step.
01
Test during due diligence
A seller's disclosure records awareness, not a measurement. “Unknown” is not evidence of a low level.17
02
Test the new build too
Radon-resistant features are not code-required anywhere examined in Giles County. New does not mean tested.
03
Use the reading, not the zone
Zone 1 is a countywide potential category. The home's own result determines whether follow-up or mitigation is needed.
04
Widen the provider search
The nearest credentialed options are outside the county, including across the Alabama line. TDEC also offers free DIY kits.18
31,433Estimated population, July 1, 2025
+3.6%Growth from the April 2020 count of 30,346
~727New housing units projected as needed over five years in a March 2025 study
Growth data: U.S. Census QuickFacts and a March 2025 county housing-study report.1920 Census also reports 98 building permits in 2025.
05 / Practical help
Radon testing resources.
Start with a home test, then use the result to decide whether follow-up testing or mitigation is needed.
Test your home
- Free test kit from TDEC — Tennessee's radon program.
- Buy a kit by phone: 1-800-SOS-RADON (1-800-767-7236).
- Live help with your questions: 1-800-55RADON (1-800-557-2366).
- Find a certified pro: NRPP 800-269-4174 · NRSB 866-329-3474.
If your result comes back high
- 1-800-644-6999 — the Fix-It Hotline, for general guidance on lowering radon in your home.
Learn more
Why it matters
- Radon causes about 21,000 U.S. lung cancer deaths a year — the second-leading cause overall and the leading cause among people who never smoked.
- Smoking plus radon raises the risk roughly ~9×.
- About 1 in 15 homes has high radon.
- Retest at least every 2 years if you have a mitigation system, and after renovations or changes to how you use the lowest floor. EPA recommends taking action at 4 pCi/L and considering it between 2 and 4.
Hotline information: U.S. EPA and CDC.2223 Health statistics and testing cadence: American Lung Association.24
06 / Sources
Primary records & live checks.
Research completed October 15, 2026. Dashboard and credential-directory results are dated snapshots.
View source register
- 1Tennessee Department of Health — Tennessee Radon Testing dashboard
- 2EPA Map of Radon Zones: Tennessee
- 3Tennessee State Fire Marshal — Residential permits
- 4Tennessee Rule 0780-02-23-.02 — state residential code minimum
- 52018 IRC Appendix F — Radon Control Methods
- 62021 IRC Appendix AF — Radon Control Methods
- 7Giles County Budget Committee minutes — March 2, 2021
- 8Giles County Planning Commission minutes — September 2, 2025
- 9MTAS — Pulaski Title 12
- 10MTAS — Ardmore Title 12
- 11MTAS — Minor Hill Title 12
- 12MTAS — Lynnville code
- 13MTAS — 2011 residential inspection program status list
- 14NRPP professional directory
- 15NRSB professional directory
- 16Tennessee Code §49-2-121 — school indoor-air programs
- 17Tennessee Realtors RF 201 — Property Condition Disclosure
- 18TDEC Radon Program — free test kits
- 19U.S. Census QuickFacts — Giles County
- 20Giles County housing-study report — March 17, 2025
- 21Local inspection-service listing mentioning bundled radon testing
- 22U.S. EPA — Radon hotline information
- 23CDC — Radon resources
- 24American Lung Association — Radon facts and Radon Basics course
Method note: public codes and minutes were reviewed alongside live dashboard and certification-directory checks. “Not found” means no rule or listing surfaced in the sources reviewed; it is not proof that none exists.