Weary of so many drab and formulaic new kitchens boasting granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances? Thanks to a miracle of modern science journalism, design help is on the way. The tyranny of the knee-jerk Kitchen redo formula may soon be over!
The “Your Granite Countertop May Be Radioactive or Emit Radon” meme got a major boost in the media last week, as an article in the New York Times and separate reports from a Rice University nuclear physicist spawned fears among consumers — and dismissive retorts from industry spokespersons.
No need to panic: Your countertop may not be emitting enough radiation to cook the food you put on it. But hey, maybe you should have your surface tested? The idea of bringing a Geiger counter along on your Home Depot shopping trips conjures up so many exciting possibilities!
Whether the latest concerns indicate a pointless consumer scare or an actual health hazard, the writing is on the wall for the granite-countertop trend, which jumped the shark long ago. In Houston — which has no stone naturally, but where builders love to follow design trends long abandoned elsewhere — they were always a strange import. Cliche-weary designers will likely promote radon-and-radiation fears just to get fashion-handicapped clients to try something else. And solid-surface competitors will only be too happy to take advantage of the situation. But if the 2-decades-long granite-surface craze finally ends, how long will their “Looks Just Like Granite” surfaces be attractive to buyers?
- What’s Lurking in Your Countertop? [New York Times]
- TV request turns into new hobby for nuclear physicist [Rice News]
- Radiation and Radon from Natural Stone [Rice University]
- Be wary of granite that glows [Houston Chronicle]
- The Facts about Granite, Radiation and Radon [Solid Surface Alliance]
- Radon and radiation exposure from granite countertops in indoor applications [BuildClean]
Photo: A2D Construction
One of the local TV stations did a story on this a couple of months back with the same Rice professor.
The main initial sponsor of the study was the industry groups behind quartz counter tops.
Radioactivity in natural minerals have been known for quite some time. It can also be found in marble and slate too.
The report targets granite because of the report connection to quartz producers who are trying to gain popularity.
Truthfully, the worst granites make up a small portion counter tops. And unless you are up against the counter top (laying on it) for days on end and it has the higher Geiger Counter readings, you aren’t going to be affected. Fruit sitting on the counter top for weeks on end would begin to get affected, but the fruit would go bad first or you’ll eat it.
In the end, this shouldn’t affect your counter top decision. You should leave that to price, looks, and durability.
So you’ll be eating radioactive fruit?
It’s hard to know what is what with this…both sides are heavily invested – granite producers, solid surface… I guess the only winner will be the maker of geiger counters.
knee-jerk Kitchen redo formula
You absolutely nailed it with that phrase.
We understand why homeowners would be alarmed by this story, but the Marble Institute of America would like to assure people that research shows granite countertops pose no threat. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Reports and repeated independent studies have shown granite countertops pose no health hazard.
–EPA stated Friday: “EPA has no reliable data to conclude that types of granite used in countertops are significantly increasing indoor radon levels.†(http://iaq.custhelp.com/cgibin/iaq.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php)
–University of Akron researchers found no threat. (www.marble-institute.com/industryresources/radontesting_u-akron2008.pdf
–An independent scientific analysis of a variety of studies shows that, accounting for normal airflow in the typical home, radon contributed by granite countertops ranges from 0.01 – 0.02 pCi/L – levels that are 200 to 400 times lower than the EPA guideline of 4 pCi/L.
By some measures, the amount of radon emitted by a granite countertop is less than one millionth of that already present in household air from other sources. Many granite countertops do not emit radon at all, and those treated with sealant reduce emissions even further.
Tiffany Daniels
Cohn & Wolfe on behalf of the Marble Institute of America
We understand why homeowners would be alarmed by this story, but the Marble Institute of America would like to assure people that research shows granite countertops pose no threat. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Consumer Reports and repeated independent studies have shown granite countertops pose no health hazard.
–EPA stated Friday: “EPA has no reliable data to conclude that types of granite used in countertops are significantly increasing indoor radon levels.†(http://iaq.custhelp.com/cgibin/iaq.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php)
–University of Akron researchers found no threat. (www.marble-institute.com/industryresources/radontesting_u-akron2008.pdf
–An independent scientific analysis of a variety of studies shows that, accounting for normal airflow in the typical home, radon contributed by granite countertops ranges from 0.01 – 0.02 pCi/L – levels that are 200 to 400 times lower than the EPA guideline of 4 pCi/L.
By some measures, the amount of radon emitted by a granite countertop is less than one millionth of that already present in household air from other sources. Many granite countertops do not emit radon at all, and those treated with sealant reduce emissions even further.
Tiffany Daniels
Cohn & Wolfe on behalf of the Marble Institute of America
Tiffany, I bet you would love to convince us that there is no threat.
Let’s look at your alledged supporters.
The MIA said early this week that the EPA did not support their position.
Consumer Reports “studied” two small granite samples…
Your “independent studies” were Dr. Chyi and Langmuir. Chyi has clammed up, isn’t answering even the most basic questions on his “study”. Langmuir’s work was not a study, he wrote an article for you guys back in 1995. In it he claimed that an average granite countertop would have only one atomic decay per year (.85 of a decay actually). He was off by billions, if not trillions of decays. Each click or count on a geiger counter is a decay. You can go to Youtube, TCSrock78, and see geiger counters hitting 7,000 counts per minute. Do the math…..
Oh, and since the MIA paid for both Chyi’s and Langmuir’s work, how can you claim it was “independent’? And neither “study” was published or peer reviewed.
I see that you posted on the 29th, before you guys learned that the EPA didn’t support your position. It took you till Tuesday to figure that one out.
The Akron study is Chyi’s, the one you paid for and selected the low radiation level granite for. Why bring it up twice?
And you still claim that granite contributes less than one millionth of the radon in outside air? Quick lesson, pay attention.
Outside Radon levels, .4 pCi/L
Radon found in Crema Bordeaux in the Chyi/MIA “study” .27 pCi/L
Tiffany is off by 1,481,481.4 percent.
How can you make claims when your the “studies” you are quoting directly dispute other statements in your argument????
Cohn & Wolfe, the big tobacco PR firm, hiring you was the stupidest thing the MIA has ever done. It makes sense that you guys know the cancer info forwards and backwards, but the association it makes is not worth any gain. You guys are big tobacco supporters.
Lung cancer/tobacco. Lung cancer/radon/granite countertops.
Everything you would want to know, including Cohn & Wolfe’s talking points and form letters that outraged granite fabricators were supposed to send out is on our blog on this issue.
We have a granite countertop Radon test underway, 18 square foot of granite in an 8’x 12′ x 8′ tall room built for the test. So far the Radon has hit 10 pCi/L, about 13 times the normal background Radon in our building(concrete construction). That is like smoking 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes per day.
We have the details posted on our forum
http://forum.solidsurfacealliance.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=98