Radon & Building Materials

According to the EPA, radon is "In a small number of homes, other building materials can give off radon, too. However, building materials rarely cause radon problems by themselves."

The scare tactics used a few years ago to promote a radon scare in conjunction with stone, is simply unmerited.  How do I know this first-hand? Well, the EPA has done studies as referenced in the link below. Also, I have had a situation where a home that my family lived in in High Springs, Florida, tested positive for radon when they were selling it.  They had Plastic Laminate countertops--no natural stone ANYWHERE in that home!

A study of granite countertops was done (initiated and paid for by the Marble Institute of America or MIA) in November 2008 by National Health and Engineering Inc of USA, and found that all of the 39 full size granite slabs that were measured for the study showed radiation levels well below the European Union safety standards (section 4.1.1.1 of the Nat'l Health and Engineering study) and radon emission levels well below the average outdoor radon concentrations in the US.

To find out how radon gets into a home, read the EPA's findings at http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/citguide.html#howdoes