Dear Big Al, One of my clients is renovating a victorian house with a large kitchen and bar. She asked me about granite countertops being radioactive. What is she talking about? Is this true? John Northampton MA
Easy John
You can relax, chances are that you and your customer are in no danger. We have been getting this question for a while now and when we first heard it we were alarmed. Big Al has done his homework and concluded that most of you out there with granite are in no danger. The problem is that most granite does not contain significant amounts of radiation producing minerals, like uranium. There are some exotic granites that do produce radiation.
There was much excitement when the early show produced a segment on the subject. You can watch it here. As you can guess, the granite and marble folks got pretty upset and saw their customers walking away. There has been a lot of finger pointing going on and some well meaning people putting out some wrong information on both sides of the issue.
Here is a good article from the Grey Lady that has some good information and links.
Big Al loves granite. When used along side concrete, each amplifies the natural beauty of the other. Big Al recommends that you have your granite countertops tested, just to be sure. If you aren't sure how to have your countertops tested, send us an email dang@alphastoneconcrete.com.
