Radon and Radiation from Granite

[John K]

I have a client who is pulling her granite tops out of her kitchen. She happens to be a oncologist and her radiation badge changed colors from laying on top of the granite.

Here is a link to info.http://www.marble-institute.com/industryresources/ExecutiveSummary.pdf

[Sponsored Links]

[ddmoit]

It would be interesting to know how much radiation is necessary to alter the badge. I bet it's well below unhealthy levels.

[John K]

I am curious if you have a weak immune system. How much of this radiation exposure from the granite will it take to start cancer?

[Curlycherry]

The article you linked to shows that there is not enough radiation given off by stone to matter. Your oncologist friend left her badge laying on granite probably overnight and all weekend and in direct contact. They would have to lay on the granite an equal amount of time to get that exposure. This sounds like another attempt by the manmade manufacturers to scare people.

[ddmoit]

I'm far from an expert on the subject, John, but I don't think our immune system has any bearing whatsoever on our ability (or lack thereof) to tolerate radiation.

As I understand it, our immune systems protect against bacteria, viruses, and other foreign bodies; but offer no protection from DNA mutation caused by radiation. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

[Crestone Tile]

Tell the oncologist to take her radiation badge with her the next time she flies ... actually tell her to sit still on radiography film so she can view a nice picture of her femurs when she gets off the plane.

The worry about radiation with granite is just so ludicrous to me with all of the other "harmful" things around us (sunlight, fried food, EMF, etc.)


:deadhorse

[John K]

ludicrous. Maybe. Found it interesting that friggin countertops put off radiation..

Ludicrous is voting for Obama. Now that's ludicrous!!! :blah:

[Rob Z]

Bricks emit radiation because they are made of clay that is composed of eroded sediments from rocks that contain radioactive elements. I would be surprised to find any natural stone that doesn't emit some amount of radioactivity.

The area where I live, extending down into southern VA, is underlain by a strata of sandstone that contains radioactive sediments. All new houses have elementary radon collection apparatus in the slab of the basement, collected in the sump crock, and run up through the roof. We're loaded with radon here, and we don't even need granite countertops to get it. :)

One of my geology professors in college had correlated radon exposure levels, emissions, etc with zip code, then correlated that the these various rock strata that I mentioned. It was an interesting study but as I recall it said what we already knew: rocks with radon in them put radon into the environment in which we live.

The real question is exposure, how long and how strong.

[Plainrider]

Much of the information as to the effects of ionizing radiation on human health is based on relatively-massive amounts of radiation dose in order to produce effects that can be measured.

Generally, then, low-level radiation and health is a very complicated area that is not well-understood.

In 1991, the International Commission on Radiological Protection stated: "There is some experimental evidence that radiation can act to stimulate a variety of cellular functions including proliferation and repair. ...

In particular radiation may be able to stimulate the repair of prior radiation damage, thus decreasing its consequences or may be able to improve immunological surveillance, thus strengthening the body's natural mechanisms."

However, to be on the 'safe' side, all human-induced (or additional) ionizing radiation is generally avoided (except for specific applications, therapy, diagnosis, etc).

Like the person who drives an extra 5 miles to avoid passing near a nuclear plant (and exposes himself to a greater overall risk of death because of the extra driving distance than from the negligble risk from the nuke), the woman who trades her granite counter top for a different counter material may be exposing herself to a greater risk (chemical) from the new top than from the radiation risk from the granite top.

[MHI]

The irony is that the oncologist has the warning badge not because radiation causes cancer, but because they treat cancer with radiation.

The radon from granite is all BS.:)

[GraniteGirl]

For those of y'all really interested, here are a couple linkies:

edit: read when sober or early in the morning. it could be kinda' technical. I still have trouble getting all this stuff straight.

Radon: Truth vs Myth (http://www.forensic-applications.com/radon/radon.html)

and

Radon Risk & Cancer (http://forensic-applications.com/radon/reviews.html)

FWIW: This whole can of poop was opened by a Dallas based "not for profit" company sponsored almost entirely by Cambria (the world famous maker of "engineered" surface materials - i.e. glue and bits of stone set in slabs) Cambria has since withdrawn their support for the nfp because of various inconsistencies in the testing, science behind the whole thing and the authenticity of some of the original cases, as well as a pretty big backlash in the community.

In my opinion, this was started as a viral marketing scheme that went way beyond where it was intended to. (Ask Bill Vincent :D - he will know all about it too)

Disclaimer: I am a stone person and is thus biased toward natural stone. :jack: