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July 24, 2008
Talk about unintented consequences! Have granite counter tops? A geiger counter?
SHORTLY before Lynn Sugarman of Teaneck, N.J., bought her summer home in Lake George, N.Y., two years ago, a routine inspection revealed it had elevated levels of radon, a radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. So she called a radon measurement and mitigation technician to find the source.“He went from room to room,” said Dr. Sugarman, a pediatrician. But he stopped in his tracks in the kitchen, which had richly grained cream, brown and burgundy granite countertops. His Geiger counter indicated that the granite was emitting radiation at levels 10 times higher than those he had measured elsewhere in the house.
Ummm. So happy to have landlord-installed plastic. Read it all.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at July 24, 2008 11:13 PM
Comments
Of all the rooms in the house, I'd expect the kitchen to be the best-ventilated. I don't have granite, but I'd not worry about radon if I did. You'd get a tiny dose if you sat on the counter, but only the top fraction of a mm will be emitting alphas that escape, and the betas from daughter products are also pretty well-contained. Transition gammas, maybe.
Our detectors are pretty sensitive, BTW. A colleague of mine was building some detectors of scintillating plastic. One day he had to have some medical test or another that used a radioactive tracer. Two days later he was observed standing behind a pillar using a rod made of a couple of meter sticks taped together to turn on the high voltage for the system. If he got any closer to the system the scintillator lit up--this from a dose considered safe for him and his family.
Posted by: James at July 25, 2008 10:19 AM
gee whiz, we just had a richly grained cream, brown and burgundy granite countertop put in - thanks!
Posted by: bucko at July 25, 2008 1:33 PM
Yikes - I just read the article. Our richly grained cream, brown and burgundy granite came from brazil, no less!
......I'm sure you could borrow a geiger counter from work. --MCT
Posted by: bucko at July 25, 2008 1:39 PM