I was just reading Todd Clark's blog where home buyers did not want to purchase the home because it had granite counter tops. The buyer said that granite can give off radon. At first I thought it was one of those urban legends or an exaggerated tale that happens one in a million, but the dangers may not be so far fetched.
The Marble Institute of America reports that “radon is a naturally occurring gas generated by the decay of trace amounts of uranium found in the earth’s crust throughout the world. It is an unstable gas that quickly breaks down and dissipates in the air.” 
In 2008 the Marble and Granite Institute of America conducted their own study and found granite counter tops do emit radon and some colors have a higher change of radon leakage than others. Crema Bourdeaux has the highest radon levels followed by Tropic Brown and Baltic Brown. Most manufacturer will say that these gasses will be dissipated by the home's ventilation system. As you can imagine the debate of the safety of granite counter tops in the home gets pretty heated. You can read the study HERE in PDF format.
All natural products, especially stone, minerals, and sand, contain trace amounts of some radioactive elements called NORMs (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Mineral) that can produce measurable amounts of radiation and sometimes radon gas. It has been said that there is no more threat from granite than from the air outside. Read article.
If you are planning on installing granite counter tops in your kitchen you can check with the manufacturer. Many are advertising radon free counter tops. If you already have granite counter tops in your home you can purchase a kit to test the radon levels. There are several available on the market.
When it comes right down to it I think people could find a possible environmental threat almost anywhere.
This subject is fairly new to me so if you have any more information or opinions I'd love to hear them.
I would bet that the Corian people funded the Radon Study!
I have had clients check the counter tops for Radon with their home inspection, and had them pass. Here is another question to ponder: What about the chemicals in the man made material, what gasses are they venting off into your home? Probably worse than having a slab of granite in your kitchen.
I have heard it is not really a problem in most cases.
JUST ONE MORE THING TO MAKE US WORRY ABOUT! I would totally trust the home inspector (one more thing they'll need to check for now)...so if they pass inspection...I wouldn't worry about it...and man oh man...those are my favorite colors of granite (the ones that leak more radon gas than others!) darn! Keep us posted...
And I was just about to purchase granite counter tops!
This is interesting and like the previous commenter I'm thinking of installing granite in my next home .... hmmm will have to give that some thought and do more research. Thanks for the info!
Thanks for the info. I'm planning to put granite in our kitchen when we begin renovations next Spring. Now, I'll be sure to check the levels before we have it installed.
Maureen, Lots of great information here. I also just had this issue raised with me by a Realtor. I think it will likely come up more often as people are made aware. Thank you for all the great information and links to educate ourselves. Having info available for home sellers/buyers to make up their own mind will be helpful.
Wow! Thank you for providing this information. I am going to have to conduct a test as we have granite throughout our house....even in the bathrooms.
Robert - I think you are are probably right.
I don't think any of this would deter me from getting granite in my kitchen - I would probably spring the for the test kit though.
Do home inspectors check the granite as part of the home inspection process ... I'm sure there are tons of inspectors here that would have some valuable information on this topic. I don't belong to any of their groups... off to join and re-post this there. Hopefully we will get some more feedback.
OMG, I've never heard of this. That would scare some people for sure...me included.
First, let me confirm that the so-called Granite Scare was created and funded by two major producers of fake stones, Cambria and Silestone.
The Natural Stone Restoration Alliance is presently conducting a Live Test, measuring the levels of Radon in a house, before and after a granite counter was installed. The granite is Niagara Gold, one indicated from the news as being one of the hottest 'hot'. You can follow the thread and the ongoing tests at the following URL:
http://www.nsraweb.com/forums/news-5/radon-granite-testing-9130.html
The various tests are live on camera to prevent tamperings.
The results so fare indicate only one thing: granite is safe.
They performed the test to see if they could add the testing of granites to their restoration services, but it looks like that this radon thing is not an issue.
Hello Maureen...yes, that would not surprise me. I am not sure the emissions are at harmful levels though. However, I notice a difference with fruits ripening faster on the granite compared to other surfaces...and for some reason, defrosting frozen goods also appears to be quickened when placed on the granite countertops. There are also a variety of mineral deposits etc within the stone slabs which might also contribute to gaseous readings.
It would not surprise me to know that all kinds of things in the home emit gases! Let us know if you find anything substantial out about it...good to know yet would not deter me from buying a home with granite as countertops. Thanks! Regards-Kathleen G
The Truth About Granite - Thank you so much for you comment. As stagers and real estate agents it is important that we have information that will help homeowners make informed decissions.
I realize that people can't cut and paste the link so here is the link to the study.
http://www.nsraweb.com/forums/news-5/radon-granite-testing-9130.html
Maureen, you are so full of knowlege! This is good to know! I hope Tracy does the test so that we can find out the results!
Interesting facts and a great post!
Goodness Marci....I am appreciative of the fact you are awaiting my granite results...I will keep you posted!
Hey Maureen this has become a REAL concern of mine. We are in the process of redoing our kitchen and I am almost leary about putting in granite. EVERYONE wants granite..YEAH NOW, but what is going to happen 10 years from now. Is it going to be one of the things that buyers will say OH NO GRANITE has radon..
I am leaning towards silestone..BUT HONESTLY I love the HI DEFINITION LAMINATE, but then people may say oh you cheaped out on the counters. I just feel so pressured to get the granite...YIKES, decisions, decisions, decisions
Phyllis Pafumi
Maureen, The Inspector in our area says that the test shows there is radon but that because it dissipates into the air it should not be a problem. The test is like putting a bowl on the counter top with a seal and of course the readings would be high.
thanks, Ray
Very interesting, Maureen. Should we offer a geiger counter with the granite counter to keep in the kitchen, and start wearing dosimetric badges on the apron while cooking ? :-)
sounds like it is so little there is not really a cause of concern at this time.
Phyllis - I'm inclined to think it is a whole lot of hype about nothing. I really agree with the Truth About Granite, that these scares were started by the faux stone manufacturers. I think if you educate consumers that there is very little to almost no threat it won't be a problem.
Maureen,
From what I understand of Radon gas emmisions is that you don't need granite counters to have Radon gas in your home. Growing up in New England prior to relocating to California, my mother would open all the windows in the house at least once a week. This was more noticable in the winter when it was beloew freezing outside. As a child I had no idea why she would do this other than to perhaps wake us all up in the morning. Later in life I learned that she was doing this to air out the Radon gas build up in the house, which is very common. I believe that if you have good circulation in your home there should be no significant effects from Radon gas.
Thanks,
My husband is an inspector and has been asked this question a lot recently. If your overall levels in the home are above the EPA recommended limit of 4 pCi/L, you should mitigate. As far as we know, inspectors cannot test for radon in granite during a home inspection - in order to do it correctly you need a continual air monitoring system and test the whole house - the EPA minimum is 48 hours for a test. In our area, this runs $125 on average. We recommend it for every house - primarily because we are in an area of high levels anyway. From our research, these gamma readers that keep getting mentioned cannot really give you accurate readings - you should really test the whole of the indoor air.
I would have to respectfully disagree with the above posting in that radon is odorless, colorless and there is no way to know it is there no matter how much you air out the house. It concentrates in houses - and even more so in the newer houses with more energy efficiency built in making homes more closed in. The only way to be sure is to have a mitigation system installed which is basically a venting system out of the house. It needs to be installed by a professional mitigation company.
We test our own home regularly - luckily we have the right equipment. If you are concerned - find a local home inspector who is NEHA-NRRP certified (means they've taken the courses and passed the tests) and have them do a continual air monitoring test. It's a small machine that, placed correctly in the home, takes regular readings and gives an average. Once the test is done, you should be able to get at least the average on site. Most home inspectors should be able to recommend a reputable radon mitigation company if needed. Not that the mitigation company can't do the test but we feel it is a bit of a conflict of interest.
We chose to go with quartz in our house - according to the manufacturer it is radon free - who knows for sure. Hope this information is helpful - please let me know if you have more questions and I can try to find the answers about this or any other home inspection questions.
I think Liz is right. Test your home if you are worried about it.
Remove the grantite if it's an issue.
Usually the radon collects when there isn't enought ventilation. OPEN the windows once in awhile.
As a realtor I guess this is one more thing we should bring up to our
buyers.
Thanks for the shout out, I find it interesting that many people with stone floors could have the same issue as the counter tops. The sale didn't go through by the way, but we did find a nice couple who was happy to have a granite counter top.
I just had a situation occur with a staging client. I had recommended granite at the beginning of the staging process but my client decided against it for economic reasons so we did the best we could with the rest of the house. Unfortunately, the feedback from potential buyers is that the kitchen needs granite (or new countertops at the very least). So my client decided to do the granite. THEN she did some more research and decided against it because of the radon! So now we have a kitchen that is keeping the house from being sold because of the radon in granite scare. Aargh!
Liz - I really think that this is something that the manufactured countertop makers put out to scare consumers. There are many granite companies that advertise radon free. You could check with the manufacturer.
According to a recent article in the New York Times, there are almost a thousand different kinds of granite, and "with increased sales volume and variety, there have been more reports of 'hot' or potentially hazardous countertops, particularly among the more exotic and striated varieties from Brazil and Namibia." Other than getting a Geiger counter yourself, I would recommend simply getting a home inspector to do a radon check on the countertop (and the rest of the house for that matter). According to Accurate Inspections, "Radon levels less than 4 pCi/L still pose a risk, and in many cases, may be reduced." Th New York Times article says, "The E.P.A. recommends taking action if radon gas levels in the home exceeds 4 picocuries per liter of air (a measure of radioactive emission); about the same risk for cancer as smoking a half a pack of cigarettes per day. Yikes!
Belle - thanks for the link to the NY times article. It was really informative.
Best keep looking for info on this topic rather than believe the stone industry. Way too much money at risk, plus the have sucessfully covered this up for the past 14 years. They can't tell the truth, so they keep digging the hole deeper.
If this was a non issue, neither the CRCPD (state radiation officials) nor AARST (radon scientists) would have committees seting maximum allowable radiation/radon levels for stones and measurement protocols. ANSI and ASME are also looking into the controversy for their organizations.
On the radon issue, we have a full scale radon test going currently, over 10 pCi/L so far from only 18square feet of granite in a 96 square foot room. That is like smoking 1 1/2 packs a day,
http://forum.solidsurfacealliance.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=98ST
Al thanks for your comment. It is interesting to see how this is developing.
Great posting, Maureen. You provided some very good information on an important issue.
Granite is a naturally occurring igneous rock, meaning that it was formed by the cooling of molten rock. It is quarried and processed to produce commercial products such as countertops. It is possible for any granite sample to contain varying concentrations of uranium that can produce radon gas, a source of alpha and beta particles and gamma rays. Some granite used for countertops may contribute variably to indoor radon levels.
While natural rocks such as granite may emit radon gas, the EPA believes that the levels of radon attributable to such sources are not typically high. According to the EPA, the principal source of radon in homes is soil gas that is drawn indoors through a natural suction process. At this time, the EPA does not believe sufficient data exists to conclude that the types of granite commonly used in countertops are significantly increasing indoor radon levels.
Most people do not know this, but radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States and is believed to be responsible for an estimated 21,000 deaths per year.
I'm writing from Michigan, where, according to the CDC, more than 600 radon-related deaths are projected to occur in Michigan this year alone. According to the EPA, one in eight homes in Michigan is expected to have an elevated indoor radon level, and in some counties more than 40% of the homes are expected to have a problem. The only way to know if a home has a problem is to test.
If you are a real estate professional, radon and indoor air is something you should know about. It is a serious health risk, but there are simple and inexpensive ways to test for it and fix it if necessary. Like any health risk today, it is something that more and more people know about either through a home sale or through the media.
Radon is such an important issue for real estate professionals that I'm in the process of preparing a continuing education course exclusively on radon for my online continuing education school. The course will inform Michigan real estate professionals all about radon and what they need to know in order to properly advise buyers and sellers.
Jason - thanks for your take on the subject.
Re-doing a kitchen with IKEA, and found this from SNOPES concerning granite and radon....SNOPES is pretty fair and balanced when it comes to the facts! Some say quartz couintertops do not emit radon, but who knows...not a bad idea to test, or pay more for radon free granite!
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/granite.asp
Hi Maureen
I notice that the articles are a few years old. Any latest developments in the granite debate? We are building a house and I was considering granite countertops until I came across the radon issue online. I can't seem to find anything conclusive on the matter! It would also be helpful to know ALL the hot granites! Do you know where I can find this information?
Very interesting blog by the way.
Thanks!