Is Granite Radiation Harmful

Are the levels of radon in granite countertops harmful.

Is granite radiation harmful.

It is extremely unlikely that radiation from granite countertops would increase annual radiation doses above normal natural background levels. On one side is that dangerously high levels have been found in some countertops while arguments on the other claim that the amount of radon emitted is very small relative to radon that may occur in homes otherwise. Use the radiation dose calculator to estimate your yearly dose from sources of ionizing radiation. Some granite and other natural stones contains trace amounts of uranium.

These radioactive elements are solids but over time they may decay into radon says the environmental protection agency epa. Some pieces of granite may contain more of these elements than others. Radioactive minerals in the granite can decay into radon a colorless odorless radioactive gas which may be released from the surface of the granite over. If it emits radon it typically does so at very low levels.

Some granite countertops have dangerously high emissions of radiation particularly radon gas. This phenomenon is something that even the mainstream press has begun reporting. And other regulatory agencies have received floods of phone calls from home owners and inspectors about high levels of radiation from granite countertops. However any radiation present would decrease quickly with increasing distance from the source.

Granite countertops are dangerous because they are radioactive and they emit poisonous radon gas. Radon is a cancer causing natural radioactive gas that you can t see smell or taste the environmental. But marble manufacturers say flat out that radiation in granite is not dangerous. Whether granite countertops could cause lung cancer due to the emission of radon gas has been a matter of some debate.

Many homeowners are increasingly worried about the level of radiation they may be getting from their granite countertops. Granite worktops cannot affect the uptake of radiation in food. At issue is whether some granite countertops emit dangerous levels of radiation especially the gas radon which is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. However many foods such as meat potatoes bananas and seafood the latter having undergone research of its own with regard to the risk to public health from radiation have plenty of harmless radioactive properties of their own derived from the soil or water in which the food.