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It is significant that the radon activity overall in Orange is lower than observed in <br /> Guilford — but still worthy of note and further analysis. This difference may be <br /> explained in part by the older age of the granitic plutons underlying south central <br /> Orange, as compared to younger formations in Guilford. <br /> The County's Environmental Health office is aware of the radon findings and is <br /> prepared to assist property owners who may have concerns about potential <br /> radon levels. Radon test kits are available from Environmental Health to help test <br /> for high radon readings in air and water. <br /> NOTE: The Committee's recommendations regarding the radon findings may be <br /> found in Section VI, beginning on page 20. <br /> For more, information on these water quality samples and results, <br /> please see the USGS Ground Water Resource Investigation report. <br /> H. Susceptibility to Contamination <br /> To address the question of the likelihood of contamination of ground water <br /> supplies, the USGS developed a parallel GIS analysis to indicate susceptibility to <br /> contamination. The map results of this analysis were eventually published as a <br /> map report "Susceptibility of Ground Water to Surface and Shallow Sources of <br /> Contamination, Orange County, NC."These data are available from USGS as part <br /> of their digital mapping product for the County, and will be incorporated into the <br /> Comprehensive Resource GIS Database. <br /> Generally, three contributing factors to indicate susceptibility were used to <br /> compute this index: <br /> 1. Soil permeability <br /> 2. Land use/land cover, and <br /> 3. Slope <br /> Each of these factors was evaluated through data in the GIS database and <br /> mapped (please see Map 2). The range of values were assigned a <br /> "contamination potential" rating, which was then used to calculate an overall <br /> relative susceptibility value. <br /> Generally, land with high ground, less permeable soils and forested land use <br /> have the lowest susceptibility to contamination. Conversely, low-lying areas that <br /> have permeable. soils and higher risk land use (underground storage tanks) have <br /> the highest potential for contamination. <br /> 10 <br />