A routine radon test revealed a surprise in Lynn Sugarman’s kitchen a few years ago. Usually, radon is found in your basement ( underground deposits of uranium decay and produce the gas) — but when the radon specialist inspected Dr. Sugarman’s house –he found radon in her kitchen.
From the New York Times:
“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.
Granite, even the stuff that is commonly used in kitchen countertops, can contain uranium or other radioactive elements. The granite in Dr. Sugarman’s kitchen was especially “hot.”
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. In Dr. Sugarman’s kitchen, the readings were 100 picocuries per liter. In her basement, where radon readings are expected to be higher because the gas usually seeps into homes from decaying uranium underground, the readings were 6 picocuries per liter.
…
“It’s not that all granite is dangerous,” said Stanley Liebert, the quality assurance director at CMT Laboratories in Clifton Park, N.Y., who took radiation measurements at Dr. Sugarman’s house. “But I’ve seen a few that might heat up your Cheerios a little.”
So what do you do if your suspect your granite is radioactive? Well, the NYT says that you can get some do it yourself radon kits from the Environmental Protection Agency, or your local hardware store. You could also choose to spend some money to have a professional come in. Expect to spend $20-$30 for a do it yourself kit, and $100 to $300 to have your countertop tested by a professional.
What’s Lurking in Your Countertop? [NYT]
(Photo: Getty)
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@testsicles: What’s your point? Are you conceding that we need stop lights, or do you think the roads would be better with everyone traveling at 5 MPH and being constantly alert? It’d be safer, but it’d be an awful big waste of gas and pretty much defeat the point of driving. The point of traffic regulation is to ensure that pedestrians and drivers are safe AND able to move efficiently.
Also, it’s nice to source locally grown organic food when you can, but without regulation, what about the quick meal you need? For a single parent, it’s hard to spend time and money driving down to farmers’ markets and investigating which farmers are ethical and which ones are lying about their food. The single parent is much more likely to go to the supermarket, and buy some contaminated junk that fit in her budget, and drive home, and feed it to her kids who then exhibit developmental problems from the junk. Also, say you do go to the farmer’s market. Truth-in-advertising laws are regulations, so you’d need to actually do some research to see if these people were honest or not about their farming.
Banner David Banner is the Hulk.
@m4ximusprim3:
Just hit the topside of the food prep scene
on a mission trying to find excessive picocuries
Seen a reading on the Geiger that made him freak
ain’t no hotter counter in the 213!
@chrisjames: Ok, but then again, you’d have non-mandatory compliance. I know plenty of contractors and home builders that wouldn’t think twice about installing “rejected” granite into an unsuspecting home buyer’s house of as a remodel.
I’d think that the manufacturer would have the most controllable environment and would ease the litigation that would inevitably develop if it had to wait for the contractor or home owner to identify the bad rock. Add to this that since there is no “safe” regulatory levels, the homeowner or contractor would have little to no recourse if the granite was radioactive.
That article is written in a somewhat confusing manner, maybe that explains all the reading comprehension problems in the comments. Here’s the key graf:
Even though radon is a much greater hazard than the radiation emitted from granite the rest of the article is mostly about the radiation.
So, in the case of Dr. Sugarman the additional radiation from her granite countertops is negligible compared to background levels. However, the radon gas from those same countertops is 25x EPA guidelines.
If 4 picocuries is equal to half a pack of cigarettes, then the elevated cancer risk in that kitchen is equivalent to 12.5 packs worth of cigarette smoke blown in every day. That seems non-negligible to me.
What you all don’t realize is just how toxic some of these granites are. And what you don’t realize is where this stuff is coming from. In one of the very first news stories about this there was a Juparana Bordeaux granite top in Houston. It was torn out after it was shown to have increased the home’s radon level and replaced with a safer granite. We have the lab report from that granite that was torn out. It shows over 1100 pCi/g of Radium and even a trace of Cobalt 60. The EPA says the “average” soil concentration of Radium should be 5 pCi/g or less. So essentially the soil your house sits on should be cleaner than your countertop.
We have sent another sample of a granite called Niagara Gold which clocked in at 500 pCi/sq. ft. of Radon. This test was initially only conducted for 19 hrs. This color & other exotics come from Namibia. The quarry is smack dab in the middle of Uranium country. There is an operating uranium mine just to the east of the quarry & a nuclear fuel EPL (exclusive prospecting license) owned by Bannerman Resources which borders the quarry’s license. There was actually another stone company fighting for the land against Bannerman.
You can find more information on the effort here:
[solidsurfacealliance.org]
@rellog: I’m suggesting that product liability laws do a good job of keeping dangerous goods away from consumers in the first place. It’s a deterrent — companies go through a lot of product testing because they don’t want to risk the liability of bringing an unsafe product to the market. Now that this radioactive risk has been made apparent, you can bet your tush that granite suppliers will be testing their granite.
Manufacturers of lead paint have been held accountable under product liability laws and have paid many millions of dollars in damages. The industry rapidly switched from lead-based paint to non-lead paint in the early- to mid-1970s when the problems with lead paint became apparent because of the liability. (Most lead-based paint had already been removed from the market when the CPSC finally banned it in 1978.)
Of course, there are cases where people are hurt by dangerous products. But, that is relatively rare and is true in regulated industries as well as non-regulated.
@TVarmy: My point is that donkeys don’t often fly high enough to take advantage of the heliosphere.
@Skiffer:
Oh, god, thank you for saying that so I don’t have to. I remember back in the 80s when they first started all the scare about radon collecting in your basement. So, now they’ve found another big scare. I guess the sales of those test kits was going down and they had to come up with another big media scare. :p
And, as my father still jokes, it’s just because the houses are all sealed up too tight and no one opens their windows any more. He says they need to open the windows and turn on the attic fan every morning and get some nice fresh air in and clear out the “radar” gas. (Yes, he knows it’s radon).
@cf27: Actually, it was well established that lead paint was harmful… back in the late 1800′s. It was banned in Europe starting in the 1920′s and was PROVEN to cause problems in the 1940′s.
As for the product liability that lead companies have been held liable for, what figures do you know of? In NJ, they can’t be held liable for a public nuisance, nor under product liability, since that law excludes toxic effects…. and it is much the same in other states. And that is EXACTLY why we need specific laws and regulations that deal specifically with these types of situations.
I find this rather amusing. When we purchased our last house Mr. Bohemian really wanted granite countertops. I could care less and thought sold surface or good old formica was fine. Now I can flaunt this in his face that my frugal ways saved him from radon poisoning!
@jjeefff: Well…. this guy…
[dcegpreviewqa.cancer.gov]
disagrees with you.
@bohemian: Well, don’t gloat too much, unless you went eco-friendly, your formica is probably off-gassing VOCs…
@racermd: Radon and lead are entirely separate, and radon is the number one cause of lung cancer deaths in non-smokers, so very dangerous. Here’s a site with no shopping cart:
[www.epa.gov]
@cf27: I forgot to mention… thanks to the LACK of restrictions on lead paint for decades (some 50 years after Europe adopted it)after its harmful effects were noted, we now have generations of mentally underdeveloped and challenged individuals- most of which are the poorest of the poor and have little to no recourse to remedy the situation themselves. So please… tell me again why we should allow corporations to regulate themselves?
Now if I could only figure out a way to enrich my counter top…
@rellog: As to the question of whether product liability law actually protects anybody, Morgan Lewis published a note on the relatively new Japanese law, including (p. 7) a blurb on the effect that Japan’s new Product Liability law had on manufacturers — it’s at [www.morganlewis.com] .
Call up Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen group if you don’t think products liability laws have a significant effect on company behavior.
If New Jersey product liability law doesn’t protect against toxic substances, then you need to take that up with the NJ legislature. In every state I’m aware of, selling a product that can kill you or lead to brain damage is exactly the type of thing that will lead to a product liability suit, often with serious punitive damages.
@snoop-blog: Not needed. My wife already cook diskes of mass destruction.
Hey Fido, could you move over a little bit…
@rellog: Lead paint is a delicious, but deadly, supplement to poor children’s diets.
A hypothetical problem of granite countertops generating radon is a bigger threat to the people who count the most – upper-middle-class and higher people afraid of their own shadow.
Unmitigated lead paint is a threat to poor children, whose parents can’t afford much more than fast food and snack food – not a good target market.
@Fredex: Yes, and Pepto-Bismol is radioactive – bismuth is not entirely stable, but has a half-life of 1.9 x 10^19 years.
IS THERE RADIOACTIVITY IN YOUR MEDICINE CABINET? ARE YOU CHILDREN SAFE? TUNE INTO KPNC- 8 “Panic News” at 5!
So, is it dangerous? Naturally occurring uranium really isn’t all that bad. You shouldn’t be eating it anything, but it’s not going to stalk you and give you cancer by being exposed a little here and there.
I would generally be worried more about the nastiness from the sealing epoxy in most granite countertops that a little radiation. Unlike many materials we come in contact with today, we have the natural ability to handle a little uranium, thanks to mother nature.
…and that’s where I’d say to start worrying. You’re gonna get radiation. But, as long as it is basically neglible compared to background, I don’t see any worry (AKA, call to regulation). But, when you could get nearly 1/3 of a normal “safe” dose by cooking….well…maybe we should think about it.
(hit submit too soon)
But, I don’t think hard and fast regulation is the answer. It really is a hard decision, because we genuinely don’t know how bad it can be.
I would totally support a, “California thinks this may cause you to sprout a third arm,” kind of label; and, require some type of warning to the potential buyer, so that they can make the decision with the potential risk (which is probably negligible in the scheme of things) in mind.
@rainmkr:
The tobacco companies just sacrificed another kitten to Satan in appreciation of your comment.
I saw this on Colbert.
Regulators get to work, or sit down and grab a beer paid by Big Granite.
For anyone who is buying a house, a radon test is very important. As for the reading supposed to be below 4p/l that is not true. After an extensive education from my local EPA they advised me that you should not live anywhere where the reading is above a 2.0 (even that is pushing is) without a mitigation system installed in the house. Fortunately for us we had an initial reading of 4.0, but that was due to an incompetent home inspector who administered the test incorrectly (as well as missing several big issues with the house…)
Just some info for people, as radon is a serious issue.
@Skiffer: Can you quote some measurements? The article quotes a measurement of 100 picoCuries/liter, when 5 picoCuries/liter is supposedly the equivalent of 1/2 a pack of cigarettes. Now they could be exaggerating the danger by comparing the radiation emissions of cigarettes without accounting for the other carcinogenic effects from the smoke and nicotine. But 100 pc/l is not 1% of normal background, it’s about 2000%.
What I don’t understand is how this whole issue wasn’t raised 5 years ago when granite countertops started becoming popular. Folks in the NYC area know all about granite being radioactive, since Manhattan is basically filled with the stuff (it holds up the skyscrapers). Seems like someone (Big Granite?) was able to the lid on this for a good long run.
@trujunglist: Well as long as they don’t kill you off until after you’ve bred your replacement, they don’t really care.
those countertops will match nicely with these….
[www.angelfire.com]
What about the people have to cut the stuff wether they’re a contractor or factory worker cutting a custom granite counter top.I realize it’s not just the airborne particulate matter but what do concentrations of that dust do to a person-it can’t be good.Does a polished countertop contain the particles molecules what ever.
Even if you watch these do it yourself or flipping shows you see people cutting tile all the time.Wonder if so much as drilling holes in granite can increase the effect?
What you all need to know is where this radioactive granite is coming from. It will help you understand why it is so “hot”. A lot of reporters will mention its just the exotics from Brazil & Namibia but the largest portion of colors, I would argue is coming from Namibia. Brazil exports so many different types of granite that are perfectly safe but there are only a few granite colors within the same “family” that could be hot. Our supplier got wind of this a few months ago & sent a gamma scintillator down to his buyer in Brazil who found 3 bundles of Four Seasons out of 8 that were acceptable for radioactivity & looks. Who knows what happened to those other 5 bundles.
At the processing plant in Brazil, they use two saws to cut the granite, one cuts the “common” granite, St. Cecilia, etc. while the other cuts the exotics, Bordeaux, Crema Bordeaux, etc. The sludge under the common saw was not very hot, but oh the sludge under the exotic saw was. And then they thought about the lagoon where all this water run off goes to. From 100 ft. away the scintillator went nuts. The processing plant has been in the family for generations & now they’re worried about their own workers.
Now for Namibia, the primary quarry where most of the “African” colors are coming from is called Stone Africa. Stone Africa is situated in the middle of uranium country. There is Rossing open pit uranium mine (the Iranian gov’t has 15% share) to the east of the quarry & bordering to the south is a nuclear fuel license owned by Bannerman Resources. Bannerman & another stone company were actually fighting for the same piece of land. There are about 4 operating uranium mines in central Namibia.
By the way, there is no difference between the uranium in your granite & the uranium that the mining companies want. With the price of uranium increasing it makes mining for low grade uranium profitable. Did you know only high grade uranium exists in Canada?
You guys are going to find this funny…
But most government buildings (capitols, post office’s, etc) are emitting this very same radiation..
It’s been know for a very long time.. Let’s talk about bananas too.. since eating too many of those can set off the radiation alarm at a nuclear power plant.
Formica for the win!
Some quick facts.
I was the guy that provided the granite samples in both of the stories. The reddish black broken piece of granite was Niagara Gold, 220 uR/hr Gamma only, on contact.
Several things that stand out in the comments. First is the distance the radiation can travel. We have run tests in our own shop with a 220 uR/hr source (Niagara Gold, the parent slab of that chunk in both the NY Times and the CBS Morning show.
At four inches, celery chopping length (!), 2,280 counts per minute (each count is a burst of radiation hitting the meter) That meter is buzzing pretty good.
At 12″ 840 cpm 14 times background radiation
At 24″ 600 cpm 10 times
At 36″ 480 cpm 8 times
At 60″ 180 cpm 3 times
Even at six feet, the radiation is still high, double background. That is hardly non existent radiation.
I’ll tell ya, I furnished those samples, they came from scrap from my competitors dumpsters or I bought remnants from them. They are too hot to put in a home, but they were.
“We’re still only talking about trace amounts of exposure.”
No we are not talking about trace amounts of radiation, why would you assume that?
First is the distance the radiation can travel. We have run tests in our own shop with a 220 uR/hr source (Niagara Gold, the parent slab of that chunk in both the NY Times and the CBS Morning show.
At four inches, celery chopping length (!), 2,280 counts per minute (each count is a burst of radiation hitting the meter) That meter is buzzing pretty good.
At 12″ 840 cpm 14 times background radiation
At 24″ 600 cpm 10 times
At 36″ 480 cpm 8 times
At 60″ 180 cpm 3 times
Even at six feet, the radiation is still high, double background. That is hardly non existent radiation.
“That worrying about a couple extra micro REMs of exposure per year is nothing?”
How about .7 mR/hr Gamma? Saturday I sent a sample that read just that. Want an extra 511 mR/yr per year with your Cheerios?
The Niagara Gold in the stories, .220 mR, 160 mR/yr. How about that?
“The extra exposure from “unusually” radioactive granite? I’d say at most would be ~1% of normal background exposure.”
Where did you dig that fact up? Background is 6o cpm, see the above list for that CBS/NYT slab. Looks like you are off by 84,000 times for the oncontact measurement of that sample.
“I suggest you all read some actual scientific facts about radiation risks and nuclear power.”
There is the problem, someone that thinks if we can’t sell radioactive granite countertops, we can’t have nuclear power.
The MIA is attempting to set some standards, about like letting the felons decide what we jail people for. One problem, one of their scientists they named a few weeks ago has jumped ship. Two of the others are jokes, one said only .85 of a radioactive decay per year from a large countertop. Idiot, each click on a Geiger Counter is a decay being detected and you have a very small taget catching. There are billions, even trillions of decays per year from a medium hot top.
Another of their “experts” has a habit of being second scientist for the EPA, after the first one won’t say what they want him to say.
The last one left, Dr. Chyi, sent me a very nasty email after I asked a simple question, was the report being used by the MIA the same one that he wrote. A scientist that gets offended at questions is a scientist that has something to hide.
Oh, the one that jumped ship? He not only answered questions, he offered to send me the data tables from the study I was asking questions about. Most scientists I have emailed have done the same.
This guy, a good one in my opinion, is starting another group to set protocols for testing. Completely independent of the MIA or BuildCLean.org. I like it.
The Chinese regulate granite radiation levels, Class A, B, C and Below C. Only Class A is allowed to be used in homes.
Granite fabricators are banding together, strangely enough, our only opponent is our own trade association, the MIA.
“There is no danger from these granite counter tops. I have a Ph.D. in the field of radiology. “
And you don’t know squat about the levels. Are you saying that .7 mR/hr Gamma is okay for consumer products? Again, if you sell X rays or Cat Scans, you do want people to accept high radiation levels as “safe”. X rays are a risk, but it is a confirmed risk that has a potential benefit.
Iron Chef, they know the difference. They are actually fighting in court over one plot of land in Namibia.
[solidsurfacealliance.org]
Dr. Sugarman’s countertop was in the thousands of counts per minute, I forgot the exact level, but I’ll email Liebert and get the exact reading.
Lots of bismuth in granite, the radioactive isotopes of Bismuth.
This debate has been raging in the countertop industry since 1995, has been beaten down several times by the MIA. This time we organized, gathered allies, and broke the story. One huge granite importer (owns one of the Nambian quarry the Niagara Gold granite came from) admitted yesterday that their purchasing manager has known about this issue for about a year and a half. Strangely, they blame me for not calling and telling them, but their purchasing manager was debating the issue with me last may!
The worker is the most at hazard, and don’t let anyone cut a slab in your home (sink cut out) or drill any holes if possible on the higher level stones. In addition to the silica (silicosis), granite is loaded with heavy metals (Cadium, Arsenic, lead, Chromium, a very long and toxic list), as well as the radioactive dust inhaled. We started using HEPA filters after we learned of the high radiation levels in the dust.
Sorry, bananas aren’t very radioactive. I heard of a guy that reduced 100# of bananas to ash before he could measure the radiation.
We understand why homeowners would be alarmed by this story, but the
Marble Institute of America would like to assure people that research
shows granite countertops pose no threat. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Consumer Reports and repeated independent studies
have shown granite countertops pose no health hazard.
* EPA stated Friday: “EPA has no reliable data to conclude that
types of granite used in countertops are significantly increasing indoor
radon levels.”
(http://iaq.custhelp.com/cgibin/iaq.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php)
* University of Akron researchers found no threat.
(www.marble-institute.com/industryresources/radontesting_u-akron2008.pdf
* An independent scientific analysis of a variety of studies shows
that, accounting for normal airflow in the typical home, radon
contributed by granite countertops ranges from 0.01 – 0.02 pCi/L -
levels that are 200 to 400 times lower than the EPA guideline of 4
pCi/L.
By some measures, the amount of radon emitted by a granite countertop is
less than one millionth of that already present in household air from
other sources. Many granite countertops do not emit radon at all, and
those treated with sealant reduce emissions even further.
Tiffany Daniels
Cohn & Wolfe on behalf of the Marble Institute of America
GCI Group is now Cohn&Wolfe
tiffanydaniels | cohn&wolfe | accountexecutive | p: +1.512.542.2816 | f:
+1.512.472.5970 | tiffany.daniels@cohnwolfe.com
Privileged/Confidential Information may be contained in this message. If you are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not copy or deliver this message to anyone. In such case, you should destroy this message and kindly notify the sender by reply email. Please advise immediately if you or your employer does not consent to email for messages of this kind. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of Cohn & Wolfe shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.
We understand why homeowners would be alarmed by this story, but the
Marble Institute of America would like to assure people that research
shows granite countertops pose no threat. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Consumer Reports and repeated independent studies
have shown granite countertops pose no health hazard.
* EPA stated Friday: “EPA has no reliable data to conclude that
types of granite used in countertops are significantly increasing indoor
radon levels.”
(http://iaq.custhelp.com/cgibin/iaq.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php)
* University of Akron researchers found no threat.
(www.marble-institute.com/industryresources/radontesting_u-akron2008.pdf
* An independent scientific analysis of a variety of studies shows
that, accounting for normal airflow in the typical home, radon
contributed by granite countertops ranges from 0.01 – 0.02 pCi/L -
levels that are 200 to 400 times lower than the EPA guideline of 4
pCi/L.
By some measures, the amount of radon emitted by a granite countertop is
less than one millionth of that already present in household air from
other sources. Many granite countertops do not emit radon at all, and
those treated with sealant reduce emissions even further.
Tiffany Daniels
Cohn & Wolfe on behalf of the Marble Institute of America
Privileged/Confidential Information may be contained in this message. If you are not the addressee indicated in this message (or responsible for delivery of the message to such person), you may not copy or deliver this message to anyone. In such case, you should destroy this message and kindly notify the sender by reply email. Please advise immediately if you or your employer does not consent to email for messages of this kind. Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not relate to the official business of Cohn & Wolfe shall be understood as neither given nor endorsed by it.
I’m not a big government fan but this is the kind of thing that needs to be regulated and this is why.
Radiation is an unseen thing and most people don’t even know anyone with a giger counter or however you spell it. The only way to tell what is going on is to have specialized equipment and people that can read them properly.
Don’t get me wrong in that most people could handle it but I’ll use the example were you have someone that can’t and have a set of triplet babies then the innocent children’s lifes would be changed for the worse.
In the mean time go vote for your favorite soup at soupwar.com
I see Cohn & Wolfe, the big tobacco PR firm that the MIA hired has found this thread. They cut and paste the same reponse every time. Let’s poke some holes in it.
First off the EPA statement was posted on Friday, then promptly retracted on the next Monday. If you look at their current web page on this topic, they warn that the science hasn’t been done yet, that they are watching the situation, and that some stones are sold that are above radiation levels that are mined for nuclear fuel feedstock.
The Universtity of Akron’s Dr. Chyi did a study paid for by the MIA, but it was chock full of problems. Since it was unpublished in any scientific journals, most scientists didn’t bother to address it as there is a difference between true studies intended for publication and PR fluff written to make the mortgage payment. Dr. Chyi isn’t anwering any questions about the study, has little background in radiation, so this use of this “study” just shows how little the MIA has to defend their opinion.
However, if you take the time to read what Vincent Ermine wrote, it contridicts itself. First they claim that radon from granite are only .01 to .02 pCi/L and that the EPA action level of 4 pCi/L is 200 to 400 times lower. Then they claim granite countertops emit one million times less radon than the usual sources. Something doesn’t add up.
The truth of the matter is that the latest study that came out, Dr. Kitto’s work, published in the April issue of Health Physics Journal, found that radon was emitted in a range of three orders of magnitude, which would mean up to 1,000 times more depending on which stone was measured. This particular paper didn’t address the hotter stones that were found and measured, just the processes that he used for measurement. The next study he publishes will address the actual stones that do have the ability to significantly raise a home radon level. Another expert, Dr. Steck from St. Johns Univeristy, is on record saying that only around 5% of stones sold as granite are potential hazards. Regardless, the experts are finding high radon emitting stones and the MIA knows this.
However, the most troubling thing in the Cohn & Wolfe wrote was that “those treated with sealant reduce emissions even further.”
This statement is completely unsupported as of this date. Israel has done some work on concrete sealers, but nothing has ever been developed that is capable of stopping a radon atom AND is suitable for putting on a pretty countertop. We aren’t going to slather a quarter inch thick coating on our expensive countertop. Keep in mind that we are talking about individual radon atoms, not molecules, little can stop an atom from escaping. So far, the only thing that has been found to be capable of keeping radon in is aluminum or stainless steel. Everything else can leak radon.
But, let’s humor the MIA and say that sealer might slow down the radon. How about the bottom of the granite, is it sealed as well? How long will the sealer hold up to cleaning, will it’s capabilities degrade over time? But, the MIA itself warns consumers that no sealer can be so solid that it prevents water molecules from escaping, it would damage the stone according to the MIA consumer pages on their website. So if a sealer isn’t designed to stop a large water molecule, how can it stop a single atom of much smaller and gaseous radon?
In short, Cohn & Wolfe are just parroting what the MIA told them to say without even understanding how contridictory it is. After all, this is what they are being paid for, misleading consumers whether it be the dangers of tobacco or the dangers of low level radiation from granite. It will get worse though as the scientists study this issue. Recently AARST, the radon scientist organization, gave the MIA a public spanking over their studies and their claims of AARST support. Their latest MIA funded study (the E, H, & E report) was savaged by some of the scientists who called it untrustworthy and unreliable. Would you believe that the instruments weren’t calibrated prior to starting the study? Despite that, their own MIA study says that 18 of 39 stones they tested were above level 6 on the hazard indexes, meaning that those stones could not be sold legally in any EU country.