Whether granite countertops could cause lung cancer due to the emission of radon gas has been a matter of some debate.
Is granite radiation harmful.
It is extremely unlikely that radiation from granite countertops would increase annual radiation doses above normal natural background levels.
And other regulatory agencies have received floods of phone calls from home owners and inspectors about high levels of radiation from granite countertops.
But marble manufacturers say flat out that radiation in granite is not dangerous.
If it emits radon it typically does so at very low levels.
However in some instances tests have found that granite countertops give off potentially dangerous levels of radiation.
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.
Many homeowners are increasingly worried about the level of radiation they may be getting from their granite countertops.
Are the levels of radon in granite countertops harmful.
Granite countertops are dangerous because they are radioactive and they emit poisonous radon gas.
Some pieces of granite may contain more of these elements than others.
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.
Granite is very popular as material for buildings and homes especially as kitchen countertops because of their beauty durability and function.
Some granite and other natural stones contains trace amounts of uranium.
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.
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.
Some granite countertops have dangerously high emissions of radiation particularly radon gas.
Use the radiation dose calculator to estimate your yearly dose from sources of ionizing radiation.
Granite worktops cannot affect the uptake of radiation in food.
While granite and other decorative stone can contain some trace natural radioactivity granite countertops are not considered to be a key contributor to radiation in the average home.
However any radiation present would decrease quickly with increasing distance from the source.
