Granite Counters: Uranium Ore In Disguise?
Cathy Woods’ new granite counters were radioactive. They contained as much uranium as commercial uranium ore. The showroom that sold Cathy her Jupurana Bordeaux granite did not warn her that some granite is radioactive.
When I contacted the salesman, posing as a customer, he assured me their granite “is no more radioactive than soil or water”. However, Cathy’s granite emitted gamma radiation at many times background. The radon gas emitted by the stone tripled the radon concentration in her kitchen.
Jupurana Bordeaux is one of the granites that are likely to be radioactive. Just weeks after having her counters installed, Cathy learned of the possibility and enlisted the assistance of professionals to assess her exposure to radiation and radon gas.
Radon is a daughter product of uranium, so granites containing uranium will emit radon. According to the EPA, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Cathy and her husband both have family histories of cancer, so they were very concerned about elevated radiation and radon in their kitchen.
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Some granite quarries are near uranium mines. Most granite does not contain large amounts of uranium, but some granite can have more uranium than a homeowner would want in the home. Cathy and I measured radiation from about 1,000 slabs of granite in showrooms around the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of the granite was only slightly radioactive. However, a small percentage emitted gamma radiation (penetrating radiation) at many times background.
We found Jupurana Bordeaux emitting gamma radiation at nearly 100 times background in the very showroom that claimed none of their stone was radioactive. When Cathy confronted the owner about his granite, he said he had no intention of warning buyers.
Cathy fell in love with Volga Blue granite to replace her Jupurana Bordeaux. It is mostly black with shiny crystals and iridescent “blue eyes”. Gamma emission was barely above background, one of the least radioactive granites we had seen.
We were left with many questions about radioactive granite we saw in showrooms. How much radioactive granite is installed in homes? How many of those homes have young children or pregnant women? Why don’t granite showrooms warn their customers?
Thanksfor the heads-up. It sure would be helpful to know which granites are the most offending and have them listed in this blog or at least given some reference elsewhere on the net.
D.L.
Sweden had a big radon scandal in the late seventies when it was discovered that many newly built multiappartment houses was radioactive due to the concrete. I’m not sure if the awareness have survived, but some building material was made illegal (”blåbetong” ie. blue concrete).
David,
The problem with making a list is that granite types that we thought to be 100% low level will have a slab show up at increased levels. Then again, the hottest slab types aren’t all hot, there are some low level slabs.
Making a list of granites to watch would stigmatize some granite types and make people somewhat complacent about other types. In the end, all slabs should be tested for radiation and Radon prior to purchase if we want to lower the risks.
The stone industry has recently bowed to the inevitable and has started advocating a testing program for their fabricators and slab importers to follow. While this is a positive step forward, few are likely to trust anyone other than an independent tester, too much money at stake, too much health risk possible if chicanery occurs.
[...] Granite Counters: Uranium Ore In Disguise? [...]
What I want to know is what is the acceptable level of radon? Is the level recorded in this material above the “safe” level established by whoever decides this stuff?
EPA maybe?
Tim,
The EPA “action level” for radon is 4 pCi/L. That radon concentration is measured in a home, not in the stone itself. Different granites emit different amounts of radon. Different homes have different amounts of ventilation. The only way to know the radon concentration in a given home is to do a radon test.
Some granites emit several hundred pCi/hr of radon from each square foot. The amount of radon in the home will depend on the amount of granite and the amount of ventilation in the home.
[...] Granite Counters: Uranium Ore In Disguise? [...]
[...] Granite Counters: Uranium Ore In Disguise? [...]
To be very blunt with everyone who thinks this article is actually worth reading, if you really think there is enough uranium ore in your counter tops to actually effect your health??, maybe you should think twice before going out in the sun without sun screen, or think before you put your cell phone to your head! or better yet, throw away your microwaves!! you are so worried about something as natural as granite, and yet you dont look at the things in your life that could actually do you harm!..granite is going to have traces of uranium BECAUSE ITS NATURAL! you cant expect to have the beauty of granite and not expect that natural elements such as uranium or very small percentages of radioactivity are not going to be present! It just wont happen!, and if you cant accept that, dont put granite in your houses, its that simple. No one is forcing you to buy granite. Unfortunatley thats the risk everyone has to take when you purchase this stuff. Its not enough to hurt you, and if you think youd rather not take the chance, then dont, cause trust me, theres just someone else to replace your business at these showrooms. happy hunting!
How funny! Alex’s post is almost identical to one that “Terri” posted on another of this author’s articles.
Terri, AKA Alex,
There you go, once again ranting about the sun (UV radiation) and cell phones and microwaves (both electromagnetic radiation), proving to all, once again, that your are incredibly ignorant of the article and facts on the issues.
It isn’t so much that consumers are stupid, as your post seems to portray. It is that people such as yourself have lied about the issue for the past 15 years. Do a simple google search using “granite countertop radiation radon” and watch hundreds of stone websites pop up that deny the issues are real. Had the consumers known that their granite could contain large amounts of uranium or other radioactive elements, few would purchase same.
Here is a fine example of the double talk within your own post.
“Unfortunatley (sic) thats the risk everyone has to take when you purchase this stuff. Its not enough to hurt you, and if you think youd rather not take the chance”
First you claim that there is a risk everyone has to take when purchasing granite, then you claim there isn’t anything there to hurt you? Why is there a risk if there is nothing there to hurt you? You go on to claim there is a ” chance”, which one would consider referring to the risk you refer to from buying granite.
“cause trust me, theres just someone else to replace your business at these showrooms.”
So, what you are saying is that if you are concerned about the potential for radiation or Radon gas coming from granite, not to bother coming to your showroom? That there are plenty of other customers that will take your place?
What a fine business model, depending on your customers to be ignorant enough to not question the safety of your product.
Terri/AKA Alex, as one poster wrote a few weeks ago, there will be a special place in Hell for the likes of you.