No Health Risks from Granite Countertops — Now, an Established Fact

There have been some misplaced notions, fueled by uninformed sources and some skeptical individuals regarding the safety of using granite countertops. The fact is that granite is perhaps the safest-ever constructional element to have been used in residential and commercial spaces. In fact, it has even been recommended for use in school campuses where there is always a risk of children developing allergic reactions to various structural components, as they are more susceptible to threats posed by hazardous building materials.

Granite Use Apprehensions Are Totally Baseless
This issue of granite containing health-risk posing radon has surfaced over the last few decades mainly by the companies that are into manufacturing synthetic countertops, as they realize that it is difficult to compete with the durability and the vast range of benefits that are offered by natural stones such as granite. In fact, now the EPA has gone to strongly emphasize that radon gas has been found in the internal environment of several households as a constituent of soil gas which is created by a natural phenomenon due the presence of unsaturated soil in all construction zones. In some households, it may be sucked in larger proportion due to the varying indoor soil topography through a suction process that is determined by the forces of nature and is not related to the presence or absence of granite in any way. Many folks may not realize that some of the most dependable and historically-favored construction materials like concrete, bricks and even cinder blocks do contain small trace elements of radioactive materials but they have never been found to be detrimental to human health in any conceivable way.

EPA Underlines Granite Use Safety
Now, the United States’ and the world’s most dependable environmental agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the EPA has itself confirmed that granite countertops do not pose any kind of health risk, whatsoever. There had been some media reports circulated by misleading sources that granite countertops could be a possible source of inducing radon gas-based elements within residential spaces, making it unsafe for family units/households. Now, the EPA has itself commented that all naturally-forming stones/minerals such as granite have radon as a constitutional element which is embedded during the natural process of their formation but the level of radon is negligible (even difficult to be measured sometimes) to create any sort of supposed health issue.

More Proof to Substantiate Granite Countertop Safety
Recently, two major studies were taken-up by renowned researchers at the University of Akron and Consumer Reports and they further substantiated that there were no apparent threats posed by the presence of granite countertops and concluded that these fears were totally unfounded. For the more apprehensive and probing consumers, the Consumer Reports has been one of America's principal institute that is dedicated to the cause of consumer rights protection and even this Institute conducted independently-run tests on granite countertops. Again, it was confirmed that granite countertops do not pose health risk and none are known to emit harm-causing levels of radioactive gases. This view has now been endorsed by the MIA — the Marble Institute of America that is constantly involved in the process of taking-up research-based studies to ensure that various construction-based stones like granite adhere to universal safety standards.