Stone Dimensions - Winter/Spring 2008 - (Page 5) StoneDimensions Volume 1 • Number 3 Published by Naylor, LLC 5950 NW 1st Place Gainesville, FL 32607 ph: 800.369.6220 • fax: 352.331.3525 From the Publisher Recently, the Marble Institute of America, on behalf of the natural stone industry, filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Home Safety Systems, a supplier of radon detectors. First in a series of magazine ads in New England, and most recently in commercials on the Paul Harvey radio program, the company has maliciously and erroneously tried to link having granite in the home with an increased risk for lung cancer in order to peddle their radon detectors. The fact of the matter is that radiation in granite used in homes and commercial buildings is not dangerous. From what is known, there are two ways in which countertops, tiles and other finishes made of granite might emit any level of radiation. The first is by the release of tiny amounts of the radioactive gas, radon, which can be inhaled. The second is by direct radiation from the surface itself to the home owner. In both cases, the radiation emitted is from the same process – natural radioactive decay of one element into another. Compared to other radiation sources in the home and outside, the risk to the homeowner from radioactivity emitted from a granite countertop or tiles is practically non-existent. In fact, the amount of radon gas emitted by a granite countertop is less than one millionth of that already present in the household air from other sources. As explained by Donald Langmuir, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines, in a 1995 response to the first bit of false advertising suggesting a link between granite in the home and radon, “In summary, to show how laughable are the concerns expressed in the ads, the typical granite countertop in our example will release 7.4 x 10-7 pCi/L of air. This corresponds to 2.7 X 10-8 atom decays per second (dps). This represents 0.85 decays per year. In other words, less than one atom of radon is produced by the countertop in one year. This is hardly worth getting excited about. I would suggest that a good way to reduce our exposure to the radon present in outdoor air would be to build an airtight house out of granite countertops!” For a complete copy of his response and the connected research please visit www.marble-institute.com. The Marble Institute of America will continue to defend the natural stone industry against all false, misleading, and even libelous claims. It seems that every year or so, some new rumor begins to circulate about nature’s greatest and oldest building product in order to “bring it down a notch.” These rumors are often initiated by manufacturers of competing products whose products simply do not compare favorably with natural stone in the categories that matter most to consumers, beauty and durability. www.naylor.com Publishers Garen P. Distelhorst Tim McNichols Editor-in-Chief William V. Levy Project Manager Ray Goodwin Advertising Sales Team Leader Doug Folkerth Account Representatives Lou Brandow • Jeff Bunkin Ryan Griffin • Paul Walley Creative Director Susan D. Myers Contributing Writers Heather Adams William V. Levy Rachel Picon Website www.stonedimensionsmagazine.com www.marble-institute.com Produced by 28901 Clemens Road • Suite 100 Cleveland, OH 44145 ph: 440.250.9222 • fax: 440.250.9223 Copyright © 2007 StoneDimensions. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission. StoneDimensions and logo are registered trade marks. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Contributors and advertisers assume responsibility and liability for the accuracy of their statements and claims. StoneDimensions is published quarterly. Cover Photo Private Residence • Solon, OH Photo by Mike Levy Garen P. Distelhorst Publisher Marble Institute of America StoneDimensions 5 http://www.naylor.com http://www.marble-institute.com http://www.stonedimensionsmagazine.com http://www.marble-institute.com
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