Assuming a relatively tight house with an air change rate of 0 5 per hour h 1 and using average measured dose rates from granite countertop slabs the estimated radon concentration in kitchen air would be 4 8 becquerels per cubic meter bq m 3.
Is black granite radioactive.
Radioactive minerals in the granite can decay into radon a colorless odorless radioactive gas which may be released from the surface of the granite over time.
Radiation from granite countertops.
The story here appears to be that some granite countertops have been found to emit high levels of radon a strongly carcinogenic natural radioactive element.
All granite and most earthen materials contain trace amounts of uranium and radium emit gamma radiation and release radon gas.
The lowdown on granite radiation.
Granite is the most abundant type of natural stone in the world.
However keep in mind that avoiding granite countertops does not mean you avoid radiation or radon gas emissions in your home.
Strictly speaking granite is an.
However since the granite is not porous and exposed surfaces are treated with sealant it is harder for the radon escape from the granite than from more porous stones such as.
This concentration is less than.
Granite contains radioactive materials.
After all there are always exceptions to the rule.
On one side is that dangerously high levels have been found in some countertops while arguments on the other claim that the amount of radon emitted is very small relative to radon that may occur in homes otherwise.
Whether granite countertops could cause lung cancer due to the emission of radon gas has been a matter of some debate.
With the concern over the radioactive risk potential of granite countertops it is important to remember that we are always exposed to a certain level of background radiation.
Granite like any other stone may contain veins of naturally occurring radioactive elements like uranium thorium and their radioactive decay products.
Radon is an odorless colorless gas produced by the breakdown of uranium that seeps out of the earth more commonly in some places on the planet than others.
It does pay to find out for sure if there are harmful levels of radioactive elements in your granite countertops.
However it is undeniable that granite does contain radioactive materials some more so than others do.
Granites can be predominantly white pink or gray in color depending on their mineralogy the word granite comes from the latin granum a grain in reference to the coarse grained structure of such a completely crystalline rock.
At most only a tiny percentage of them have been tested for radon or radiation levels but a recent test of 13 types of granite typically used for countertops found no radon or very low levels of.