Are Your Granite Countertops Hazardous to Your Health?

July 24th, 2008 // filed under: Buying a Home, Home Upgrades, MD, New Construction, Southern Maryland

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Yes, I know that they’re expensive, and Granite Countertops can certainly kill your wallet, but who knew they could be hazardous to your health as well! The NY Times posted an article today about granite countertops.  In an era where everything we do and eat is potentially hazardous to our health, what’s one more household risk, right?

You see, Granite emits VERY MINOR levels of radiation.  In a few rare cases granite emits higher than average levels, and the EPA is apparently seeing a rise in calls from home inspectors regarding the safety of our beloved counter finishes.

“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.”

Perhaps it could be marketed as a selling feature(You’ll never need to use the stove!), but realistically the odds of your own counters being risky is remote.  If you’re concerned about it, your best bet is to get a radon inspector out to your home to test your homes’ radiation levels.  It should probably run you about $100-$300 dollars, and you’ll know for sure if there’s a problem.

It begs the question:  “How long will it take to cook an egg on a counter like this?”

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 1:40 pm and is filed under Buying a Home, Home Upgrades, MD, New Construction, Southern Maryland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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