solidsurfacealliance.org Blog

Quite a few questions were asked about the recent events and how they would affect fabricators of natural stone, including my shop. I’ll try to address the questions.

“Just curious, do you have a written policy that requires testing, and specifies what level of radon you will accept from a supplier?”

One thing , we aren’t measureing for Radon yet, just radiation.

First the easy answer, what level. 25 uR/hr over background radiation, about three to four times background levels. We prefer much lower, say 12 to 13 including background (6 to 7 uR/hr). Anything over 25 uR/hr we consider a hazard to our workers.

We are cutting up far, far, hotter material for the scientists. One of the few accepted reasons for exposure is to further the public good, providing some benefit for the risk. A prettier granite countertop does not meet that standard in our view. Our workers are fully informed, and we take extrodinary care in handling and cutting the hotter material.

Since we are a small company, no formal written policy has been set down, but on our website we mention the testing requirement, in red letters no less. In our granite countertop quotes, we have a clause requiring the slabs be tested for radiation prior to us accepting the granite job. Easily done with a small meter.

Radon is another issue, not possible unless we had possesion of the slab for a few days. And, we have yet to purchase the Radon meters, all of our focus has been on radiation. There is a relationship between radiation and Radon since the radiation is a measurable by product of the decay. So despite the lack of portable and fast Radon testing, simply rejecting the slab based upon high radiation levels will solve the problem. Or so we think…..

Some studies say that Radon production in a stone is about that of the radiation emission, measure the radiation and you have an approximate amount of Radon being produced. Other studies have found less Radon versus radiation, but I have yet to see a study that said a little radiation was present when a lot of Radon was produced. So we are pretty certain, and we state that there is some risk despite choosing low level radiation stone, and that the measurement of radiation is not an exact science at the hand held meter level.

One Radon company has developed a method of direct Radon measurements, IF you have a sizeable sample of the exact slab. The problem is the variation of the slabs, you never really know if that small chunk knocked off the corner of the slab is the same as the majority of the slab. Costs $175, takes a couple of weeks including shipping time.

We will start testing for Radon very soon, still researching the subject. Luckily, this testing effort has me connected to some of the top Radon scientists in the field. I’m getting some of the best samples to them found so far, so I can usually get a dumb question answered

“Because most of the information out there right now is funded by groups with a financial interest in the outcome, many people are skeptical of the results. “

Not so much a question as a statement that needs addressed. To start with, Silestone sells about as much granite as many companies, so they have potential liability as well as potential gain no matter which way this goes. From an inside view, with some access to info that few will see, I see this as an huge risk for Silestone and one taken only because they are unsure of their own potential liabilities. I really think they are attempting to jump start the conversation as well as the testing of all natural stone and quartz.

The only testing that Build Clean has an actual hand in is the 300 home testing effort, done by state certified Radon technicians using a protocol developed by the meter’s manufacturer and vetted by a PhD withexpertise in the field. The conclusions will be written by an expert as well.

Would it be better if someone else did this? Of course, but first the need to test has to be shown. Plenty of scientific studies on granite emitting Radon, but no one has done an in home study. Think of this as a way to prove the need, not as the last word on the subject. Who else will pay for this besides an interested party that stood to gain one way or the other? Since when did the funder of a study cause the study to lose status and credibility? This study is not designed for publication, it is just a fact finding mission.

And, there have been no results given so far, can’t be till the study is finished. If and when the study provides evidence of real world Radon emission from granite, then it will be time to do this again, at 10 times the cost so that it can be peer reviewed and published in a scientific journal.

“I’m suggesting to the developer/General Contractor that they develop a spec requiring that the slabs be tested and pass. As a fabricator, I think you would want to require the same thing of the slab yard. From what I understand, the testing is relatively inexpensive, and it would be a condition of your continued business. I’d require a letter from the slab yard with the results of the test on it, then it’s their liability.”

First thing is that there will never be zero risk with either Radon or radiation unless there is zero Radon and radiation. I can think of only a few granites that will provide zero radiation or Radon. No matter what you do or what you have people sign, Dr. Chiodo said the children and any visitors or future homeowners will have every right to sue since they didn’t or legally couldn’t sign your disclosure/release form. Dr. Chiodo is a top Toxic Tort lawyer as well as being a doctor. He knows both health risks and the law.

These are great ideas and I support it being done. Just understand that you can’t pass on your liability, only a judge or jury can do that. Stay in this business if you have good insurance that covers this risk specifically and always test for at least radiation before you buy a slab or accept one from a consumer for fabrication. Own your own meter, have it callibrated every year, check it against your check source often, and keep records of any testing results. CYA as you have never done before. Understand that despite your every effort, you will be a party to any lawsuit if something should slip through, or someone frivolously claims harm from your low level granite countertop.