Potassium 40 is a radioactive isotope of weak emission and a constituent of alkali feldspar which in turn is a common component of granitic rocks more abundant in alkali feldspar granite and syenites.
Is there radiation in granite.
Children and developing fetuses are vulnerable to radiation which can cause other forms of cancer.
However any radiation present would decrease quickly with increasing distance from the source.
At most only a tiny percentage of them have been tested for radon or radiation levels but a recent test of 13 types of granite typically used for countertops found no radon or very low levels of.
The lowdown on granite radiation.
However high levels of radon in the home from all possible sources is a health concern because it can cause lung cancer.
It is extremely unlikely that radiation from granite countertops would increase annual radiation doses above normal natural background levels.
After all there are always exceptions to the rule.
It does pay to find out for sure if there are harmful levels of radioactive elements in your granite countertops.
Use the radiation dose calculator to estimate your yearly dose from sources of ionizing radiation.
1 there is general guidance on radiation exposures in buildings and radiation exposure from naturally occurring radioactive materials.
Some granite and other natural stones contains trace amounts of uranium.
While there are no radiation exposure standard standards specific to granite counter tops there are two standards that may be referenced in any professional evaluation.
If it emits radon it typically does so at very low levels.
While radon gas and radiation emission levels attributable to granite are not typically high there are simply too many variables to generalize about the emissions from granite countertops.
However in some instances tests have found that granite countertops give off potentially dangerous levels of radiation.