A buddy is looking to upgrade his countertops from formica to granite. He got some quotes and was told to stay away from “cheap” granite. He was told that granite mined from some quarrys gives off radon gas and now he is nervous. He is thinking of just going with Silestone or something similar.
Is this a scare tactic to get him to buy more expensive granite or is it true? This is the first I heard of “poison” countertops.
Thanks.
Replies
I saw something in the news the other day stating that women in their childbearing years might want to avoid granite counter tops.
Someone has his head up the wrong orifice.
They completely fail to understand the nature of radon, let alone granite.
"Someone has his head up the wrong orifice"So are you saying it is not possible for Granite to emit radiation? Better take another geology lesson if you are.
YOU tell ME just how much radon is gonna come out of a 2 cm slab. Especially after it's been sitting in storeyards, shipping containers, and wearhouses for 6 months to a year. Now a house placed on top of a granite mountain may have some radon issues. But this BS line going around is truely founded in the uneducated.
As Piffin points out, there are better things in this world to worry about.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/25/earlyshow/health/main4292754.shtml
And a short piece from the article:
"Indeed, health physicists and radiation experts agree that most granite countertops emit radiation and radon at extremely low levels. They say these emissions are insignificant compared with so-called background radiation that is constantly raining down from outer space or seeping up from the earth's crust, not to mention emanating from manmade sources like X-rays, luminous watches and smoke detectors. "
And another:
"Allegations that granite countertops may emit dangerous levels of radon and radiation have been raised periodically over the past decade, mostly by makers and distributors of competing countertop materials. The Marble Institute of America has said such claims are "ludicrous" because although granite is known to contain uranium and other radioactive materials like thorium and potassium, the amounts in countertops are not enough to pose a health threat. "
Edited 10/22/2008 10:10 am by peteshlagor
Pete the issue isn't the thickness of the slab or the fact that it's been sitting in the yard for a Year. Please. The issue is the uranium-238 that is contained in the composition of most of the granite throughout the world. Some granite slabs have more 238 than others. There's only one sure fire way to tell- measure it. Uranium 238 gives off radon-222 as it decays. The radon becomes harmless after about 4 days. The problem is that the Uranium -238 has a half life of 4,500,000,000. That's eight zeros. So leaving your 2mm slab in the yard for a year? Joke's on you buddy. That stuff will be emitting Gamma rays for almost 5 MILLION years. I'll grant you that some granite is pretty harmless as it contains minimal amounts of uranium. But to suggest someone has their head up their butt to be concerned about the potential risk is ridiculous. Is the risk overstated? Maybe. Do you want to bring something potentially radioactive into your house to conduct your own personal experiment? I sure don't. Especially when there are other options available. If I could find a cost effective non radioactive smoke detector I'd use it too. If I could get an X-ray without actually exposing myself to X-rays- I'd do that also. I'm exposed to enough background radiation just walking around and taking hikes in those granite filled mountains. I don't need to deliberately concentrate a potential risk by bringing the stuff into my home. Geology is your friend Pete.
Edited 10/22/2008 10:25 am ET by frontiercc2
"Geology is your friend Pete."
But fear and unsupported hype are not.
What part of my post is fear and unsupported hype? Do you disagree that Granite contains uranium-238? Do you disagree with radon-222 as being a byproduct of the decomposition of uranium-238? Do you disagree that radiation is a dangerous thing? Or is the dispute with the significance of the facts?I'm just curious what FACTS lead you to believe that someone has their head up their butt. That's all. You argue that a slab that's been in the yard for a year is inherently safe. When in fact the part of the slab that causes the concern has a half-life of over 4 BILLION years. Is there some hype in the argument out there? Probably. But you offer little to refute that hype other than one liners and put downs.
So YOU sell competeing countertops, huh?
"When in fact the part of the slab that causes the concern has a half-life of over 4 BILLION years. "
If you are so afraid of nature around us, I assume you live in some HEPA filtered, lead lined cocoon and avoid all forms of transportation.
Or do you have evidence of people dropping in granite showrooms? Do you know of a single person whom either died or became ill form his countertops?
It's a well made point.. true nobody is going to drop dead simply because of walking past a piece of granite but long term exposure does add up..
You may or may not have a piece that is mildly or even highly reactive. So the unknown is the major fear.. I would think a reasonable solution would be to rent a giegor counter and test any piece you may intend to buy. Most is fine but not all by any means.. I don't believe price is the deciding factor..
How would you seal the lead so that you aren't poisoned by the dust?
Probably with nail polish. The gurly men that are so scared will know how to use it.
Having watched people die from cancer you can count me among those girlymen..
Those last few agonizing moments of life where the choice is severe stupefying drugs or a few more minutes of conciseness are too brutal for me to endure or subject my family to..
Wow!
Can opened - worms everywhere!
I guess the answer is " don't worry about it unless it bothers you enough to worry about it"
I actually believe it was his wife who brought it up since he is more of a "how bad can it really be if they still sell it" type of guy.
Thanks for the input.
I was going to suggest scotch tape.But new research shows that pulling tape off the roll generates X-rays.http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/10/discovery-scotc.htmlSticky tape x-ray machine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGzRvYU0e3Q.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
We're all gonna be inside a lead bubble pretty soon!
Maybe it'd be cheeper if we just let nature take it's evolutionary route and see what we turn into in a few years?
Can't use lead.Heavy metals and all of that.Maybe kryptonite? Any warnings against it's use?.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
You and I wouldn't be able to fly any more.
A small loss to Save The World..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
But that's why you and I are here. Are you suggestiing we be outsourced?
By a dumb rock?
"But that's why you and I are here. Are you suggestiing we be outsourced?By a dumb rock?"I would love to say who could be the dumb rock, but this is not the tavern..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
How 'bout you refute my statements with facts instead of attacking me personally-If you'd bothered to read the posts- I don't live in a sterile HEPA filtered world. In fact I spend a lot of time outdoors in the mountains that are composed of that radioactive granite. I also don't sell competing countertops. And it's true there is radiation all around us. But instead of obfuscating things by calling me a girlyman with my head up my butt and laying down personal attacks- address the points I've made. Oh- that's right you can't. My points are factual and your "head up the butt" comment cannot be substantiated. My 9 year old resorts to name calling when he's been beaten with logic too. It's OK though- I can take it. Feel free to bring into your home a product which most likely contains a radioactive element in unknown quantities. As for me and mine- I'll avoid risks that are reasonably easy to avoid. Cummulative radiation exposure is one of those risks. One cigarette won't kill you- but the combined effects of many of them will. That's my take on granite.
What about "bubble boy" instead of gurlyman?
Yeah- OK, bubble boy works.
Naturally occurring radiation is everywhere, the sun, the earth, even the human body. You can measure the radiation from banannas. That's just the way it is.
So, does Harbor Freight sell Giger counters ? .
I don't need to deliberately concentrate a potential risk by bringing the stuff into my home.
Well, don't take any plane trips of over two hours--that's about 3 years' exposure to the counter tops. Risk is in the dosage and in the duration.
It's also good to remember that 0 exposure is not 0 risk, too. Research is out there that low-level exposures to many things actually improves health by stimulating immune responces and body functions.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
I appreciate your factual and enlightening reply. It's been years since I had chemistry and I had not even thought about half-lives. Remember, there are those among us that believe smoking is harmless too.
He should avoid using cell phones, walking near transmission lines, eating food, wearing a watch, sleeping on anything other than cotton, using any form of store bought cleaning product, or drinking from an aluminum can, as wel as watching TV, talking politics, driving a car, and ....well, I think you get the picture.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
This was an article someone linked to a while back:
http://www.physorg.com/news142184239.html
jt8
Granite does tend to contain radon (in varying amounts, depending on the quarry), and some large buildings constructed of granite have fairly high radon readings as a result. It's questionable, however, whether there'd be enough in a countertop to be of concern, especially in a properly ventilated home. And there is granite available that's certified to be low in radon.
If the radon issue is really a show-stopper, they probably do want to consider a "quartz" (epoxy/sand) countertop such as the Silestone or Cambria. Has most of the good characteristics of granite, but comes in a wider variety of colors (though not with the same "grain") and is more stain-resistant.
There's only one way to have radiation around, and that's to be around radioactive material.
That said, the amount of radiation you are exposed to depends solely upon two things: how much there is, and how close you are to it.
There's a world of difference in exposure between a nuclear fuel rod, and a chunk of rock. There's a reason they don't make nuclear fuel out of granite: there's hardly any radioactive material, of any sort, in it.
Not only do you need to literally be sitting upon a mountain of it to matter, you need to trap, and hold, the radon gas that is produced, and continues to generate radiation as it decays.
A granite counter top can't possible contain enough radioactive matter to even be measured; add to that the unsealed underside, and I would have to say there essentially no exposure. You'd be exposed to far more radiation if your home burned coal for heat.
Likewise, health studies of granite workers have identified all manner of bad things happening from breathing in the dust, but nary a word about radiation exposure linked ailments *such as bone cancer).
This little thing hit the papers here about a month ago.
My electrician is also a very reputable home inspector in the area. (great electrican to have cause he knows a lot about a lot)
Anyway, he went out over the next week and tested several homes with granite, mostly fairly new installations.
No more measureable radon at the granite than elsewhere in the house so their opinion was that it was a bit hokey, but whatever.
Actually with our granite counters we have appreciated not having to have a night light in the kitchen - with the soft *glow* we can see our way around quite nicely.
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Jeff
Edited 10/23/2008 12:44 am ET by Jeff_Clarke
Radon shouldn't be a problem as someone stated as it's half life ... if I recall is only a few minutes, even. I don't think there is a continuous source of radon in a counter ... so it shouldn't be an issue. It would dissipate in short order (like between the time it was mined and the time it was finished to install). I did a lot of radon work years ago. Radon in a countertop doesn't sound like a valid concern. I'm no geology expert, though.
If radiation was an issue w/ granite, do you think they would be mining and producing counters if anyone w/ knowledge demonstrated that granite counters have a uranium radiation problem?
IMO the concerns are unfounded ... and until there is evidence otherwise, he shouldn't worry. Had a guy post concerns about fluorescent lighting being a big health hazard yadda yadda, too ... backed by doctors' observations of problems, yadda yadda ... you can take a tidbit of intormation or science and take it out of context to say anything you want ... Need to keep things in perspective.