With the concern over the radioactive risk potential of granite countertops it is important to remember that we are always exposed to a certain level of background radiation.
Is black granite radioactive.
Strictly speaking granite is an.
Granite ˈ ɡ r æ n ɪ t is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture.
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 time.
However it is undeniable that granite does contain radioactive materials some more so than others do.
Assuming a relatively tight house with an air change rate of 0 5 per hour h 1 and using average measured dose rates from granite countertop slabs the estimated radon concentration in kitchen air would be 4 8 becquerels per cubic meter bq m 3.
Granite contains radioactive materials.
However keep in mind that avoiding granite countertops does not mean you avoid radiation or radon gas emissions in your home.
Granite like any other stone may contain veins of naturally occurring radioactive elements like uranium thorium and their radioactive decay products.
Radiation from granite countertops.
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.
Whether granite countertops could cause lung cancer due to the emission of radon gas has been a matter of some debate.
Granites can be predominantly white pink or gray in color depending on their mineralogy the word granite comes from the latin granum a grain in reference to the coarse grained structure of such a completely crystalline rock.
All granite and most earthen materials contain trace amounts of uranium and radium emit gamma radiation and release radon gas.
However since the granite is not porous and exposed surfaces are treated with sealant it is harder for the radon escape from the granite than from more porous stones such as.
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.
The story here appears to be that some granite countertops have been found to emit high levels of radon a strongly carcinogenic natural radioactive element.
These trace concentrations may vary from stone to stone or even within a single slab of granite.
The lowdown on granite radiation.
Granite is the most abundant type of natural stone in the world.
This concentration is less than.
It does pay to find out for sure if there are harmful levels of radioactive elements in your granite countertops.