Granite Countertops May Be a Health Threat?
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I have something to be relived about this week: I don’t have a posh kitchen, no granite countertops, so this story doesn’t ratchet up my mom-anxiety.
This week, CBS reported on a story that granite kitchen countertops are releasing radon gas into homes, and may pose a serious health hazard. Granite naturally contains low levels of radioactivity, which gradually releases radon gas over time. Radon is a radioactive gas and a carcinogen, and causes an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths every year in the USA. Granite countertop manufactures say the risk is totally negligible, and the amount of radon that could be released by a countertop is minuscule.
The Environmental Protection Agency says that the sealing process tends to keep radon gas in, and consumers should be more worried about testing their whole home for radon from other sources, like from rocks in the earth.
So to put the risk from granite countertops in perspective, If there is radon in your house, the vast majority of it is coming from the rock underneath your home. The bedrock - all those millions of tons of it that your home is built on - is often granite or other rocks that also release radon.
And eating food that has been prepared on a granite countertop, is very unlikely to be dangerous
Many states’ health departments sell subsidized radon test kits, usually by mail order. (Google <your state> health department, then search for “radon test” on their website, or use the search feature on the EPA website.)
I live in Minnesota, and the Minnesota Department of Health sells radon test kits for under $10. You would hang up the test in your home for a couple of days, then mail it into a laboratory to be analyzed. You’ll receive a result in a couple of weeks.
Here’s the EPA’s advice on testing, and what to do if you do have elevated radon levels in your house.
So I’m not currently panicking about my mom’s or my friend’s granite countertops, but I think I might get one of those radon test kits.
And who thinks the next health scare will be about fake granite countertops?
Huligar says...
I would like to point out that not all granite has traces of radiation. The few that do come in the form of clusters and even than you have to look very hard to find a slab that makes the meter react.
The slab that we found came after many weeks of digging, LOL. Even the slab that we have could have been use with out including the clusters, but we did every thing that we could to include six clusters that made the meter go crazy.
We believe that the one thing the home owner cares about is how much radon does the granite adds to the home. People say that the amount can not me measured and pose no risk. Other say it will cause cancer if you get close to it. The only thing that the NSRA know for sure, is the best way to test for radon is to test the air, so that is what we are doing.
If the granite does show significant level that can should raise concern, the NSRA will do what we do best; we will look for ways to correct the problem and lower the levels coming from the granite.
You can view the test kitchen live on the net at http://www.nsraweb.com/forums/news-5/live-testing-kitchen-radon-before-granite-9010.html
Huligar says...
Thanks for waiting. I just got back from Vegas where the people who come up with programs to deal with Radon and Radiation were having a conference and one of the topics was building materials.
I personally spoke to Stanley P. Liebert of CMT Laboratories who denied any direct or indirect correspondence with our Al or the SSA. Mr. Liebert went on to say that the only thing that he is hoping to point out is the fact that 10 out of the 2000 granites emit some radiation. This however, does not directly translate to what we have been reading on the web. That is, if you have a slab that has some traces of radiation it will give off radon with in the next ten generations. Mr. Liebert is also the proud owner of granite as well. He thinks it?s crazy for someone to remove a counter top simply because of one area that may show a reading.
I also had the pleasure of speaking with Erik Listou of Build Responsible, Gary Hodgden of AAIR Professionals, Bill Brodhead of WPB Enterprises Inc, and Shawn Price of Air Chek, Inc. These guys gave me a crash course in radiation and radon while confirming that we had the hottest stone measured to date.
Everyone that I spoke to all had the same conclusion. At this time the radiation from natural stone has no significant bearing on the radon levels in a home. It was also explained and demonstrated that the meters on the market are not the best tools to go hunting for radon coming from natural stone. The areas of a slab can be easily avoided or even removed if deemed necessary.
In the NSRA test kitchen, the numbers before the installation were all very low. All were less than 0.3 pCi/l on the days of testing (about as low as anyone can measure.)
The test kit in the hall was 0.6 pCi/l
The test kit hanging in the door way was 0.8
The test kit hanging from the cabinets was 0.7
And the one we hung 12″ over the “hottest” spot was 1.0 pCi/l
This test was done in a way to make sure we got the highest readings possible. We now intend on testing the home as if we were simply testing for radon in the home.
http://www.nsraweb.com/forums/36453-post42.html
Huligars last blog post..radioactive rust