When it comes to kitchen countertops, it's hard not to be taken by granite.
It's smooth, shiny and sooo cool to the touch. It comes in all kinds of great colors. It's used for tombstones, so you know it's rock-solid.
Besides, doesn't nearly every upper-end home's kitchen have granite countertops?
'Granite is natural, and people like that it has a unique look,' says Thad Wagner, in sales for Copper River Cabinet Co., a Fort Wayne kitchen installer.
Lately, however, granite's image may have lost a bit of its polish.
Kitchens with granite built-ins might have their appeal. But they also might have something else: radon – a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring radioactive gas that ranks as the top cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.
The New York Times sparked the granite controversy in July when it published 'What's Lurking in Your Countertop?' The story reported that some granite countertops emit radiation and radon because of decaying uranium or other elements embedded in the rock.
The story noted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had been receiving calls from home inspectors and others concerned about countertops with radiation measurements several times what would be considered normal background levels. Other callers wondered whether countertops and other granite built-ins such as fireplace fronts or shower surrounds were contributing to radon levels above what the EPA recommends for inside a home.
The agency urges taking remedial action if a home's radon level exceeds 4 picocuries per liter of air. It urges considering remediation if the level is above 2 picocuries.
In the story, an example kitchen with a granite countertop tested at 100 picocuries, while the home's basement, the typical source of high radon readings, tested at 6 picocuries.
According to the story, the countertop would contribute only a fraction of 1 millirem of radiation per hour spent near or touching it. The recommended annual exposure limit is 360 millirem a year. Federal officials allow an additional 100 millirem for those living near a nuclear power plant.
While the story explained that experts don't necessarily see the elevated levels as threatening health, one homeowner had her granite countertop removed because she thought the additional health risk unnecessary.
Locally, the controversy has sent ripples of concern through countertop sellers and radon testers. But there's no widespread panic, they say.
At Colvin Kitchen & Bath in Fort Wayne, owner Guy Colvin says 'a few' customers have inquired whether granite countertops are safe. But none of that business's customers has decided against putting in a granite countertop or asked to have one removed, he says.
To counteract concerns, Colvin says, the business now gives countertop customers a list of the pros and cons of various counter surfaces and a booklet recently produced by the Marble Institute of America, an industry group.
Called 'The Truth About Granite and Radon/Radiation,' the booklet concludes that 'Granite countertops are not known to pose a health risk to consumers.'
Colvin agrees.
'Radon is emitted naturally from stuff in the earth, and a granite countertop is not a major source,' he says.
Copper River's Wagner says he's skeptical of the claims, seeing them as part of a marketing strategy by granite's competitors, a view echoed by the Marble Institute. In recent years, industry experts say, granite imports have brought down the price of the material to about the same as quartz or engineered stone countertops, making granite more competitive.
'We've had a lot of (sales) reps in here pushing their materials,' Wagner says. 'They're pushing quartz over granite. They usually have the (New York Times) article with them.'
Colvin says basic granite begins about $70 a square foot installed, compared with about $80 for quartz and engineered stone materials.
Even before the recent news reports, Colvin was selling more of those materials than granite because they have a more consistent appearance, don't require seams and don't have to be periodically sealed, he says.
Cliff Burdge, a certified radon inspector and licensed home inspector for Homecheck Inspections in Fort Wayne, says he hasn't seen an increase in people asking for radon inspections because of granite countertops.
Indeed, that's never been the reason for a customer call, he says.
Not that radon is of no concern in the Fort Wayne area, Burdge adds.
In his 20 years inspecting homes, he says, he has come across many with levels higher than EPA recommendations. The reason is that Fort Wayne is in an area the EPA considers of high concern because of its geology.
Burge says radon can easily build up in homes' basements. He's also found high radon levels in homes built on a slab or a crawl space.
'Never because of a countertop,' Burdge says.
Katy Boteron, office manager of Three Rivers Environmental in Churubusco, says that company had one request to test a granite countertop in recent weeks.
'It came back just fine,' she says, adding the customer became concerned after seeing a TV news segment on the controversy.
Boteron, however, doesn't dismiss countertop concerns.
She points out that the EPA recommends all homes be tested for radon. About 25 percent of tests by her company in the Fort Wayne area don't meet the EPA standard, she says.
In Adams County and the Warsaw and North Manchester areas, the percentage is higher – between one-third and two-thirds of homes the company has tested don't pass.
Because high radon levels are already a possibility locally, consumers might want to think twice before installing a countertop that might add to them, Boteron says. If a resident already has a granite countertop, he or she might consider testing, she adds.
Radon tests can range from $20 plus lab fees for a do-it-yourself test to around $135 and up for professional testing, she says.
Boteron says radon levels in a kitchen with a granite countertop can be minimized by keeping it well ventilated – by opening windows or using a ceiling or stove fan.
She adds that there's virtually no risk from ingesting food that comes in contact with a granite surface.
'The only way that radioactive elements can get into a meal is if they were dissolved in water and absorbed into the food. However, granite is one of the most insoluble materials known to man, and the amount that could be dissolved is minuscule,' according to a Marble Institute of America brochure.
'Radioactive energy given off at the granite surface will enter food that is directly in contact with the surface, but like all energetic rays, it changes into heat and/or non-radioactive particles. These processes happen quickly, so the radiation does not remain in the food.'
Granite countertop makers recommend that granite be sealed every two years or so. But that is not related to radon or radioactivity.
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