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| The Carpenter Shop |
"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful,
or believe to be beautiful. " William Morris
or believe to be beautiful. " William Morris
Copyright The Carpenter Shop, 2008.
| 358 N. Rockwell Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73127 |
| 405.942.2644 |
| Office Hours: M - F 7 a.m. to 3:30 Sat 10 - 1 Please call to make an appointment for any other time. |
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Granite Counter Tops & Radon, It's Not Just a Myth.
For the health & safety of our employees, our customers, & ourselves we present to you facts
regarding granite counter tops & the radon controversy.
We've researched radon in granite & other building materials for a couple of years now and we have
gone so far as to buy different types of radiation detection devices. We have a PM1703 scintillator, a
Leni Geiger counter, & soon a Gamma Spectrometer to verify for ourselves the amount of radioactivity
in granite countertops.
Now, you may ask yourself why would we do this if we sell granite ourselves. And the answer is that
we do this to protect ourselves and our business. When we researched the pros & cons of getting
into the granite business we came upon stiff resistance & in some instances, intimidation, when we
would ask questions about the radon and granite link. Now you know that if you ask someone a
question and they blow up at you, you know you've touched a nerve. We began fabricating granite
anyway because for our customers its very convenient, we can install the cabinets one day & then a
week later, the countertops can be installed. When another granite shop would install the granite, the
customer would have to wait weeks and sometimes a month for the granite to be installed.
We assumed like everyone else, "How bad can it be?" We wouldn't fully know that answer until this
past spring when we finally got our equipment. You can't see, taste, smell or feel radiation. You don't
know its there until you measure it. If we had gone without research or taking the issue seriously we
would have risked our company's future just to sell a hot item, (no pun intended).
Our investigative work has shown that some stones are coming from a stone quarry in Namibia called
Stone Africa. This quarry is surrounded by operating & prospective uranium mines. We even found a
news story online about a stone company & a uranium company fighting over the same land.
So before you consider granite you need to be aware that yes, in fact there is radioactivity in all
granites but not all granite colors will be elevated. Almost all granite produces as least twice the
background measurement but only a small percentage will emanate enough radiation and radon to
produce health consequences. If you stick with many of the "level 1" types like St. Cecilia, Uba Tuba,
New Venetian Gold, Absolute Black, Blue Pearl, etc then you will most likely be safe. So far we've
found Bordeaux, Crema Bordeaux, Four Seasons, & the stones from Namibia (African Ivory, Niagara
Gold, etc) to be a cause for concern. Another researcher found Shivakasi to be a problem.
If you would like more information on selecting a safe stone or if you know someone who has one of
the stones mentioned above, please contact us & we'll be glad to help.
regarding granite counter tops & the radon controversy.
We've researched radon in granite & other building materials for a couple of years now and we have
gone so far as to buy different types of radiation detection devices. We have a PM1703 scintillator, a
Leni Geiger counter, & soon a Gamma Spectrometer to verify for ourselves the amount of radioactivity
in granite countertops.
Now, you may ask yourself why would we do this if we sell granite ourselves. And the answer is that
we do this to protect ourselves and our business. When we researched the pros & cons of getting
into the granite business we came upon stiff resistance & in some instances, intimidation, when we
would ask questions about the radon and granite link. Now you know that if you ask someone a
question and they blow up at you, you know you've touched a nerve. We began fabricating granite
anyway because for our customers its very convenient, we can install the cabinets one day & then a
week later, the countertops can be installed. When another granite shop would install the granite, the
customer would have to wait weeks and sometimes a month for the granite to be installed.
We assumed like everyone else, "How bad can it be?" We wouldn't fully know that answer until this
past spring when we finally got our equipment. You can't see, taste, smell or feel radiation. You don't
know its there until you measure it. If we had gone without research or taking the issue seriously we
would have risked our company's future just to sell a hot item, (no pun intended).
Our investigative work has shown that some stones are coming from a stone quarry in Namibia called
Stone Africa. This quarry is surrounded by operating & prospective uranium mines. We even found a
news story online about a stone company & a uranium company fighting over the same land.
So before you consider granite you need to be aware that yes, in fact there is radioactivity in all
granites but not all granite colors will be elevated. Almost all granite produces as least twice the
background measurement but only a small percentage will emanate enough radiation and radon to
produce health consequences. If you stick with many of the "level 1" types like St. Cecilia, Uba Tuba,
New Venetian Gold, Absolute Black, Blue Pearl, etc then you will most likely be safe. So far we've
found Bordeaux, Crema Bordeaux, Four Seasons, & the stones from Namibia (African Ivory, Niagara
Gold, etc) to be a cause for concern. Another researcher found Shivakasi to be a problem.
If you would like more information on selecting a safe stone or if you know someone who has one of
the stones mentioned above, please contact us & we'll be glad to help.
| Links for More Information What Do Granite & Ice Cream Have in Common? Granite Counters: Uranium Ore in Disguise? Rice University Physicist's FAQ Site on Granite and Radiation Prof. Bill Llope's Report on Granite and Radon Industrial Hygenist's Website who has a customer who tore out their Bordeaux granite because of the elevated levels of radiation. The History of Radon. A brief history of radon. Solid Surface Alliance Blog. This is Al's blog, keep abreast of the granite and radon controversy here. Emanation From Granite Countertops, Research Report 2005, Michael Kitto & John Green's research of some samples of granite. Finland Study on Radioactive Building Materials Dutch Study on Radioactive Building Materials Georgia Granite, One Source of Deadly Radon Gas. This talks about the granite in Georgia, not granite countertops. While this does not discuss granite countertops, consider that you are taking material from the Earth's crust & putting it in your kitchen. Contributions of Building Materials to Radon Levels in Florida This is a project summary outlining research & efforts to establish a radium standard for concrete. Radiometric Analysis of Chinese Commercial Granites. China instituted radiation standards for building materials in 2002. Juparana Bordeaux Analysis Results. Perhaps you've seen the original Houston news report. Three samples were sent to a lab to isolate the isotopes. These are the results. Keep in mind, average radium in soil concentration is less than 5 pCi/g. The MDC column is the acronym for minimum detectable concentration. The MDC provides general information about the sensitivity of analytical techniques in radiochemistry based upon assumed nominal conditions. DLC is the acronym for decision level concentration. The DLC gives the level at which there is five percent probability of reporting a false positive for a sample containing no analyte. The DLC is calculated by sample specifically using variable values from the actual analytical conditions. |