solidsurfacealliance.org Blog

As this effort to get high radiation granite off the market progresses, we are finding more and more allies. Recently, we ran across a man who has been working for the last 18 years on the issue of Radon, concrete, /building materials in general.
Bill Levy, of Associated Radon Services, Stuart Florida, has turned out to be a treasure trove of information on Radon. His company is able to measure new home natural ventilation rates by using tracer gas decay measurements show just how Radon can build up in homes. Basically, you have a source of Radon, be it soil based, from concrete, a granite countertop, stone tiles, or some other source, that is emitting a fairly consistent amount of Radon gas. What matters as much as the amount of gas produced is how often the air in the home is changed, the ACH levels (Air Change per Hour). ASHRAE recommended 0.35 ACH, or 35% of the homes air changing per hour. Bill is finding it can be less than that, as low as 0.10 ACH.
With less air being replaced with fresh air, the Radon levels begin to rise. Modern energy efficient homes are the most at risk.
To put this in perspective, the MIA/Dr. Chyi study used 6 air changes per hour (ACH), 17 to 60 times the levels Bill found, in an attempt to minimize the health aspects of the Radon levels they found in the natural stone they tested.
But with rising energy costs and more effort on the energy efficiency of new homes being built, Bill said “This means that a little emanating radon can go a long way…and building codes are making the structures even “tighter” every revision ! ”
Bill has an excellent website on Radon at Radonserv.com , one of the best sites I have seen on Radon. He has a new article on a possible link between Childhood Leukemia and Radon.
Bill has started sharing information from the Government agencies which are responsible for keeping workers safe. It seems there are laws already in place to protect workers, with the problem being the agencies not knowing how radioactive some granite slabs can be.
The U.S. Department of Labor has clarified the definition of Reasonable Diligence in regard to shop owners testing for Radon or Air Borne Radiation hazards. They say that each case is looked at individually, but if a shop has head of the Radon or radiation hazard in granite controversy, they would be held to a higher standard than an employer that had never heard the subject brought up. If the media has reported excessive Radon, then the owner of the shop should have known of the hazard and taken the proper steps to find out if there were any hazards facing his workers.
With the history of the MIA (Marble Institute of America) on the Radon/radiation aspects of granite being widely reported, tested, and discussed, it would seem that any MIA shops were given the opportunity to protect their workers.
It seems that a level of 7.5 pCi/L of Radon requires that the area be posted as a “Airborne Radiation Area”. Areas of more than 2 mR/hr exposure are unrest riced areas as long as workers could not receive more than 10 mR in seven days exposure.
Furthermore, Bill has provided proof, in the form of a letter from the Dept of Labor, that NORM material such as granite are indeed covered by the regulations. So the bottom line for granite shop owners, such as myself, is that we have all been given an ample opportunity to realize the risks and be proactive at protecting our workers. We researched the hazards in the beginning, and as more and more info on the actual levels of radiation and Radon present in natural stone becomes known, our protocols for worker protection are increasing.
Many shop owners, especially the MIA member shops, vehemently deny the issues. One wonders what the future holds for these shops as the regulations start to be enforced. The lawyers that were asking “Is granite the next asbestos?” may well have know what they were talking about.

Here is another more detailed account of employer responsibilities