Apparently, even if your floors are bamboo and your finishes low-VOC, that luxury green condo may be giving you cancer anyway. The cause is that ubiquitous must-have mostly used for holding take-out containers: the granite countertop.
“It’s not that all granite is dangerous,” a radon-detection technician was quoted in the New York Times. “But I’ve seen a few that might heat up your Cheerios a little.”
Granite, particularly the varieties imported from Brazil and Namibia, can release both radon and radiation, according to reports and analysis by the Department of Health.
The radiation/radon claim is fervently denied by the Marble Institute of America, which claims it’s “ludicrous” and perpetuated by competing materials manufacturers and makes of radon-detecting technologies. They have released their own study to refute marble’s danger.
Indeed, usually the amounts are insignificant compared to what is called “background” radiation we’re exposed to everyday – coming from outer space or inside the earth’s crust, as well as x-rays, luminous watches and even smoke detectors. In fact, the EPA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission tell us to only get worried if our annual rate of radiation is around 360 millirem – a granite countertop would release just a fraction of a millirem per hour if you were right next to it.
Then again, the EPA also recommends action of radon levels exceed 4 picocuries per liter of air, or what they equate to “about the same risk for cancer as smoking a half a pack of cigarettes per day.” Considering that the woman interviewed for the piece in the Times had about 100 picocuries per liter in her kitchen (which may or may not be a typo, you never know these days), maybe it is best save the money on granite to put toward those $9 packs of smokes.