Scary article in today's NY times about granite countertops

~The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds, and that's what you've given me. That's what I hope to give to you forever. I love you. I'll be seeing you. ~The Notebook! <3

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Piece of cake and a candle.
**ng gift**

Hey gals!  Just wanted to chime in as I just finished taking a physics class two weeks ago that had a significant section on nuclear physics.  First, radiation exposure decreases as one over the square of the distance, so most of the time when you're in your house you're not experiencing much effect at all from countertops.  You would have to get within several feet of them to experience much at all.  Also, not all radiation is equivalent to x-rays, which are not recommended while pregnant except in special circumstances.  Most common types of radiation are not deeply penetrating at all. . .for example, alpha rays are stopped by a piece of paper, and beta rays wouldn't be able to penetrate your internal organs much at all.  Not sure which one radon is offhand, but I'm pretty sure that it would be one of these and not something like gamma rays because it is mostly linked to lung cancer--thus it is inhaled but doesn't really spread to other organs much.  Of course, these considerations are all in the worst-case scenario that one actually has uranium/radon emitting granite.

A LOT of things emit radiation--even a developing fetus emits a measurable amount of radiation. 


Signed,
A TTC chick who is currently too poor for granite. 

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"There is no such thing as fun for the whole family-there are no massage parlors with ice cream and free jewelry" Jerry Seinfeld

Sephora is the mothership! - diamondfan

Leasing any car is not a smart thing, but leasing a Mercedes is flat out stupid.

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"There is no such thing as fun for the whole family-there are no massage parlors with ice cream and free jewelry" Jerry Seinfeld

Sephora is the mothership! - diamondfan

Leasing any car is not a smart thing, but leasing a Mercedes is flat out stupid.

Sephora is the mothership! - diamondfan

Leasing any car is not a smart thing, but leasing a Mercedes is flat out stupid.

I just did a kitchen remodel...with granite of course.  I read the article too.  I sent a TIC email to a few friends about it, and like most of my friends they too replied TIC.

Mine:  You know I told you all that I planned to have the kitchen lit up well  after the remodel.  And it certainly is.  But now I know why it remains so bright  in there even with the installed lights OFF.

One friend:  Hmmmmm..............  Maybe my dirty, old formica isn't so bad after all.  Besides, I like my cereal cold.

Another friend, who is very funny AND a environmental health and safety engineer for the government, (so his technical info is real) replied:   Hmmm...perhaps not, Karen. Radiation emitted by uranium and radon has a frequency many orders of magnitude higher than the human eye can see, and the amount of energy needed to heat any given object in the room sufficiently to generate light in the visible spectrum would be much, much greater than the levels discussed in the article. Consquently, I am inclined to believe that the kitchen being bright even without the lights is a function of the healthy glow on your own newly-wed face, or perhaps you have aliens residing in the backyard, or perhaps you are being overflown by black helicopters. In any case, I would consider your countertops to be the least likely source.

Devin...nice thoughts, HOWEVER, the wood chips that are aggregated into the particle board that supports your formica laminate are treated with formaldehyd, also considered a human carcinogen. AND, whether the plastic laminate is actually formica or some other name brand, it is a polymer, and MOST monomers used in the manufacture of those polymers are carcinogenic as well. Both types of gases will be released from the countertop, albeit in small quantities, for quite some time after their installation. And I won't even mention the toxicity of the glues and catalysts. However, like you I prefer my cereal cold, and counterrops are an essential component of the kitchen infrastructure. ;-)


I just love my snarky friends.