Movement along doesn’t always predict radiation content. Stones like Carocia Gold, Baltic Brown, and yellow can be elevated.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1015130819974.html?41

I see some of the same people doing the same attacks on anyone who dares bring up this issue. In this case, I have never met this lady who was sold the hot granite, although I understand my wife spoke to her today after she called. I do know her Radon tester, who is certified in the state of California, as well as being a certified industrial hygienist. You don’t get better credintials than that for addressing this issue.

Several points were brought up on the Gardenweb forum.

First off, I was very clear on which mR per year figures were with total radiation and which were Gamma only. Secondly, total radiation is included in the 100 mR yearly maximum additional dose, as they have the total radiation included in the 360 mR per year you get normally.

I did make a typo, it was potasium 40 not 38, the 38 pCi/G had me thinking 38 for some reasons. Not sure there is a Potassium 38! The total pCi/G for the Uranium and Thorium was around 113 with the potassium based radiation being only 38 pCi/G, thus my statement that the majority of the radiation was gamma based as Potassium emits only 11% of its radiation as gamma. I mentioned this to head off the often heard reply that the granite radiation is mostly potassium based and thus not dangerous.

But THE MOST TELLING THING about this unfortunate ladies delima is the fact that her fabricator is telling her that the granite must be cut into 6″ x 6″ squares to be removed. Anyone that has spent much time on Garden web will realize this is a bald faced lie, told to sway the consumer from her goal of removing the granite. We all have read stories of granite being removed, no doubt with some risk of breakage, but in this case it doesn’t matter, it just needs removed.

This fabricator has zero integrity in this matter, sorry to say, but it is the absolute truth. If he wanted to say the granite would be broken and contaminate the room, that might be be understandable, but to tell this lady that it MUST be cut into 6″ x 6″ squares, spreading radioactive dust all over her home, well that statement can not be supported nor can it be excused. He figures if it is removed, he owes her a new granite countertop and he will be fortunate if that is all this lady requires of him. A weeks labor to avoid a million dollar lawsuit is a cheap fix for this guy.

While I realize this fabricator might have done an excellent job with the original fabrication, he is now attempting to weasel out of his responsibility to ensure the products he fabricated and installled were of average safety. Now with this family living on a fixed retirement income, they should not be forced to bear the costs of this slab yard and this fabricator’s lack of professionalism in keeping abreast of their trade. This problem was known years ago, these businesses were simply ignorant or negligent.

And Jerseydeb wrote this about the controversy:

“There is far more radiation exposure walking around outside than you are going to get with these most commonly used granites. Most of the granites used in the home emit so little radon/radiation that it is near nil. Stay away from the ones that seem too high for your comfort level. What I read is that some imbedded minerals affect the test results. Stay away from those granites with a lot of those minerals, if this report bothers you. It depends on whether crystals point up or down. Seal the heck out of the granite, if you are still worried.”

Jersey Deb is either a granite industry plant or completely ignorant. Background radiation is usually around 6 or 7 uR/hr gamma, this granite was reported at 10 times that with Dosimeter readings, absolutely reliable, used in nuclear power plants and nuclear medicine to protect workers. I would hardly call 10 times background radiation “nil”.

Then she says “most granites emit almost nil radiation. A bald faced lie. Few granites emit less than double background radiation, most are three to four times background, five to ten times is common, and I have seen 200 times background from some granite.

Then remember that scientists agree that small hand held meters can only read 2 to 3% of the total radiaton HITTING the meter, not counting the radiation that is headed away from the meter!

And “stay away from these granites”? How can she do that if she isn’t warned? And she tries to warn others about the issues, and some try to shout her down? Get real! Then Jersey deb claims “it depends on whether the crystals point up or down”? Where in the heck did she find that info? Completely ridiculous, so much so that one should use her as the poster girl for proving the case of just how low some in the stone industry will go.

Finally, Jersy deb tells this lady to “seal the heck out of the grainte”? Like that will help? Gamma can penetrate almost everything, even lead. Did you know that 4 inches of lead will stop only around 87% of Gamma radiation? Sealer won’t do squat, nor does it stop the Radon according to the leading experts on these matters.

In short, Jersy deb is so ignorant that she ought to just keep her mouth shut or worse, she is a granite industry member joining in to shout this lady down. Either way, it is a complete shame that someone who is merely concerned about this issue to be treated in this manner.

This lady is completely justified with her concern for her husbands health after all his previous exposures and the usuall suspects on gardenweb are raking her over the coals in a twisted attempt to damage her credibility.

Shame on gardenweb for allowing this to continue after all the proof that has been provided.

Silestone and Cambria samples were tested by Dr. Kitto from the New York state Health Dept. Extremely tiny amounts were found in some colors, none in others. See the next paragraph for more info on extremly low levels detected.

I sent additional samples to another researcher, Silestone’s current box of samples, Staron’s current sample box, Hanstone’s current sample box, and about one quarter of Cambria’s samples. The results have not been published yet, but I was told there was none to very little results. At some point, called the minumun detectable limit, even a tiny result can not be said to be a true or false test result, it is in the “who knows” area.

Two Radon labs are currently using Quartz material as the base for their Radon measuring chambers due to the lack of Radon and other off gassing.

Another point, for years it was thought that Radon could only be emitted by the surface of a granite or quartz top, one nanometer was thought to be the “recoil” distance that a Radon molecule would be kicked out when the Radium atom decayed into Radon. As it turns out with more studies, the scientists are saying that granite is very permable to Radon, so much so that a high Radon emitting granite can be covered with a low emitting granite, with the lower granite’s Radon being detected THROUGH the upper stone. Quartz would be very different, since the polyester is mixed with the quartz chips and cured.

Now, two very important points.

FIrst off, with granite, the quartz mineral shrinks up to 50% when it cools as the granite is formed, leaving the porous matrix that allows Radon to travel. The quartz mineral in Quartz countertop material is not molten when formed, so it doesn’t shrink, so there are no voids for porosity.

The second point, and the most troubling because of their answer, is that Silestone uses polyester resins, not acylic. The person at Silestone didn’t have a clue about what they were speaking of.

Keep in mind that Quartz countertop material is solid surface with quartz chips imbeded in it, about 28 to 35% by volumne. The 97% quartz content claim is by weight, and is very misleading in my opinion. Now there are polyester solid surface brands, Avontite has a group of 100% polyester colors, but most companies use acrylic because it doesn’t UV light fade like polyester does.

Some granites UV fade as well, with dark lines or light lines showing up if something “masks” part of the top. Most common is a slab sitting outside with another slab slightly shifted to one end, leaving a two or three inch wide section of the back slab exposed to light. In some Quartz colors, the same can happen, or cookie jars or canister sets leaving dark spots or light spots as the rest of the top fades with light exposure.

We warn our customers about the Avonite polyester colors, a hand full of which will change color as it ages, turning lighter, or more yellow. The fact that Quartz also has these issues is not generally known outside the fabrication world. We sell quartz, but please read the care and cleaning instructions carefully, then carefully read the warranty. So much care must be taken with quartz to avoid voiding the warranty, and if you treat the countertop with the kid gloves required treatment, you can save a boatload of money going with solid surface instead.

Another point about Quartz is the staining and etching issues. Again please read that warranty very carefully and not any exemptions and exculsions. Read a solid surface warranty as well, then compare the exclusions and exemptions cause it will tell you want many of us fabricator already know, Quartz is really oversold on durability and stain resistance.

But, it doesn’t have Radon or radiation issues, is shiny and harder than solid surface. Some report the loss of gloss as it ages, others say their countertop stayed looking great. I would imagine it has more to do with care and cleaning than brand issues.

Make sure they specify where and how many seams you will have. It makes a lot of difference in the bid price, fewer seams usually wastes material.

I hope this helps, if not ask more questions.

Thanks,
Al

Some times the stone that exhales the most Radon is not the hottest stone, but one that is fairly porus, which both New Venetian Gold and Santa Cecilia usually are quite porous. It would be a good idea to procure an actual sample, say a 3″ x 3″ chunk or larger, and send it to a lab for testing. It isn’t that expensive, $75.00 will get it done, or just buy a Radon test kit from your state Radon office, put the chunk of stone and the opened test kit in a plastic bag tied shut and wait two days, then send it to the lab.

New Ventian Gold usually runs low, we have measured slabs from 144 to 240 cpm (counts per minute with 60 cpm being background radiation). That is 2.4 to 4 times background radiation levels. Of course I would much rather have the 2.4 times background levels than the 4 in my home.

Santa Cecilia runs from 84 cpm to 324 cpm, or 1.4 to 5.4 cpm with background included. So Santa Cecilia would be a better choice if you can find a low level slab.

Remember if you have someone test your slabs, have them take the background radiation levels away from the granite slab yard, the parking lot would be fine. If there is a slab that is border line, have them move it away from the other slabs to see if the radiation coming from the slabs behind the front one are influencing the front slab.

And finally, don’t reject a color or type, reject hot slabs. Low level slabs can be found in most types of granite.