Nova Scotia Radon Map

The RadonTest.ca Nova Scotia radon map — built from 3,677 measured long-term tests in Nova Scotia, part of a 69,478-test national dataset — puts Nova Scotia at 35.4% of homes at or above Health Canada’s 200 Bq/m³ action guideline, from 3,677 tests in this province, with a typical (geometric mean) level of 126 Bq/m³. Nationally the figure is 17.8%. The highest-reading area in Nova Scotia is Halifax at 38.7%; the lowest is Digby, Yarmouth at 2.6%. The highest reading in Nova Scotia was 5,632 Bq/m³ — over 28× the guideline, recorded in Halifax County.

See Nova Scotia on the interactive map

Open the Canada Radon Map zoomed to Nova Scotia → Type a postal code or town to find your area.

The underlying survey data is public; the RadonTest.ca Canada Radon Map is the free tool that makes it searchable — by province, city and postal code, in English and French, no signup.

Radon by area in Nova Scotia

Every measured census division in Nova Scotia, highest first. “Typical” is the geometric mean — the level a middling home in that area recorded.

Areas with few tests carry a wider margin of uncertainty — treat small-sample percentages as indicative rather than precise. A 0% reading means no home tested above 200 Bq/m³ among those measured there, not that the area is radon-free.

Halifax is the only Nova Scotia city reported separately in the survey; it appears in the census-division table above at 38.7%.

The same area at three different thresholds

Canada’s action guideline is 200 Bq/m³. The World Health Organization uses a stricter 100 Bq/m³ reference level, and the US EPA acts at 148 Bq/m³ (4 pCi/L). Measured against each, RadonTest.ca’s Nova Scotia data reads:

No level of radon is completely risk-free — the risk rises with exposure, which is why the WHO line sits lower than Canada’s. Health Canada recommends acting within a year above 200 Bq/m³, sooner at higher levels.

Why this differs from older Health Canada figures

Health Canada’s 2009–11 national survey put Nova Scotia at about 8.8% of homes at or above 200 Bq/m³, from 592 valid tests (2009–11 figures as re-tabulated by the 2024 survey team), with a typical level near 41 Bq/m³. This page uses the 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon — 69,478 long-term tests, the largest residential radon dataset in Canada — which puts Nova Scotia at 35.4% from 3,677 tests, typical level 126 Bq/m³.

Two things differ. First, the sampling: the 2009–11 survey recruited by random digit dialling across 121 health regions and deliberately over-sampled sparsely populated regions for geographic coverage, while the 2024 dataset aggregates long-term tests from homes whose occupants chose to test — which skews toward older housing, ground-contact basements and areas where radon is already a known concern. Second, the weighting: the 2009–11 figures quoted above are the raw, unweighted results. Because that survey deliberately over-sampled some regions, Health Canada also published population-weighted estimates, and its headline national result is 6.9%; the 11.3% raw figure comes from the 2024 survey team’s re-tabulation of the same dataset. None of these numbers is wrong — they answer different questions. For a population-representative estimate of Canadian housing, Health Canada’s weighted 6.9% is the right figure. For the largest body of actual measured results, use this page. Both are shown on the Canada Radon Map, and both can be switched between on the RadonTest.ca map. Full detail on methodology and sources.

Why Nova Scotia is Canada's second-highest radon province

Nova Scotia's granite and shale bedrock — particularly the South Mountain Batholith running through the Annapolis Valley and into Halifax and Lunenburg counties — is uranium-bearing, and uranium decay is where radon comes from. That geology produces the second-highest provincial rate in the country after Manitoba, and it varies enormously across the province: Halifax County at 38.7% sits against Digby and Yarmouth at 2.6%.

The province has published its own radon potential mapping through the Department of Natural Resources, which models where radon is likely from geology. This page shows something different and complementary: what homes in each county actually measured. Geological potential tells you the ground; measured tests tell you what got into the houses. Where they disagree, the measurements win.

Nova Scotia has no provincial radon requirement in its building code beyond the National Building Code's rough-in provisions, and no mandatory disclosure on resale. Testing is voluntary, which is part of why the measured dataset skews toward homeowners who already suspected a problem.

A map cannot test your home

Every figure on the RadonTest.ca Nova Scotia radon map is an area figure. Two identical houses on the same street in Nova Scotia can test very differently, because radon depends on your foundation, your soil, your ventilation and how you live in the house. The map tells you the odds. Only a long-term test tells you your number.

Health Canada recommends a long-term test of at least 91 days, and you can start it any time of year. Ideally at least 91 of those days fall in the heating season (roughly October to April), and there is a simple rule for when they don’t: if your result comes back below 200 Bq/m³ on a mostly-summer test, Health Canada suggests re-testing next heating season, because a summer test can read low. If it comes back above 200, Health Canada says no re-test is needed — act on it. Test your Nova Scotia home — order a 91-day radon kit →

What to do if your result is above 200 Bq/m³

Health Canada recommends taking corrective action within a year above 200 Bq/m³, and sooner the higher the reading. Most Canadian homes are fixed with sub-slab depressurisation — a pipe running from beneath the foundation slab to a fan that vents above the roofline, which, when properly installed, reduces levels by more than 80% in most homes (Health Canada); results vary by house. In Nova Scotia homes permitted after the province adopted the 2020 National Building Code in April 2025, a capped radon rough-in should be under the slab — most existing homes will not have one, which usually reduces the job to connecting a fan to pipe that is already there.

Work should be done by a professional certified through the Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program (C-NRPP), and the home should be re-tested afterwards to confirm the fix worked. You can also look up radon by address or postal code anywhere in Canada on the RadonTest.ca map.

Nova Scotia radon map — questions

How high is radon in Nova Scotia?

RadonTest.ca’s Nova Scotia radon map puts about 35.4% of Nova Scotia homes at or above Health Canada’s 200 Bq/m³ guideline, from the 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon (3,677 long-term tests), with a typical level of 126 Bq/m³. Against the WHO’s stricter 100 Bq/m³ reference level, 58.7% are over.

Which parts of Nova Scotia have the most radon?

On the RadonTest.ca Nova Scotia radon map the highest-reading areas are Halifax (38.7%), Lunenburg (38.4%), Cape Breton, Richmond (26.1%), Victoria, Inverness (24.1%). The lowest is Digby, Yarmouth at 2.6%.

Is there a free radon map for Nova Scotia?

Yes. The RadonTest.ca Canada Radon Map is free, needs no signup, and shows measured radon by census division and postal area for every part of Nova Scotia.

Does a low reading on the map mean my house is fine?

No. On the RadonTest.ca Nova Scotia radon map a low area share is the result most likely to talk you out of the test that would have caught yours. Homes above 200 Bq/m³ have been measured in every Canadian province, including in the lowest-reading Nova Scotia areas.

Related

• Radon in Nova Scotia: levels, risk, rules and what to do
• Canada Radon Map
• Radon in Halifax: testing and mitigation
• Tested above 200 Bq/m³? What to do next
• Radon in basements: why lower levels test higher
• Methodology and data sources

Recommended citation: Nova Scotia Radon Map, RadonTest.ca, 2026. Data: 2024 Cross-Canada Survey of Radon (v1.1 (CCSR.24.1.1), ISSN 2818-8195). https://radontest.ca/pages/nova-scotia-radon-map Data licensed CC BY 4.0 — attribution required: “RadonTest.ca Canada Radon Map”.