Yes, if tampering isn't a concern, the at-home test kits are cheap and reliable. (Edit: In a real-estate transaction, there's plenty of incentive to cheat, so t

Yes, if tampering isn't a concern, the at-home test kits are cheap and reliable. (Edit: In a real-estate transaction, there's plenty of incentive to cheat, so the continuous-monitors used in those situations include all sorts of other sensors -- accelerometers, temperature and humidity, barometric pressure, etc -- to tell if someone just opens all the windows, or carries it outside, etc. My dad used to do this work and I saw some wacky printouts indeed, from where unscrupulous agents had gone to any length to make sure the test produced a low reading.) Charcoal canisters are cheaper but only do a short-term snapshot. Get an alpha-track and do a long-term test, which gives you a much more reliable picture of your exposure. You can absolutely do both. There are also continuous monitors which are more expensive still, but some folks just love live data. If you hadn't mentioned neighbors on both sides, I'd say as a slab-dweller, you might be worrying too much. But that definitely points to uranium in the local soil, and while slabs are generally at significantly lower risk than basements, your situation is one where it's definitely worth testing!