Granite Countertops and Radon - Fact or Fiction
Over the last few years, there has been some media attention focused on granite countertops and whether they can increase your indoor radon levels. While testing your home is always a good idea, before you purchase an in home radon detection kit, here are a few facts to consider.
The EH&E (Environmental Health and Engineering, Inc.) has completed a detailed evaluation of potential human health risks of naturally occurring radioactive materials in granite countertops. The extensive measurements and rigorous mathematical modeling conducted to date indicate that 1. external doses of ionizing radiation emitted from granite countertops are well below levels that would pose a health concern and 2. contributions from granite countertops to radon levels in homes are lower than background levels of radon exposure typically found outdoors and indoors.
Radon levels associated with emissions from granite countertops in homes are low in comparison to typical background levels of radon exposure. In other words, natural stone is a minor contributor to concentrations of radon gas within homes. These finding are consistent with an earlier review of the scientific literature that EH&E performed (EH&E 2008)
You can view the entire report on the Marble Institute of America’s website at: http://www.marble-institute.com/industryresources/assessingexposurereport.pdf
