Radiation schmadiation

Predictably, the reactionaries over at Treehugger went to town over this granite counter radiation thing. So much so that I dropped them from my blogroll. It's a pity too. Treehugger started as a forum for rational discussion about sustainability got hijacked by the eco-madmen on the fringes. Anyhow, the guy from Treehugger who picked up the supposed story and ran with it to all kinds of illogical and irrational ends got taken to task in the reader comments that followed his posting. It very nearly renewed my faith in humanity. So humanity's off the hook but alas, Treehugger's going to have to work a little harder to win back my favor. I know, that has them shaking in their boots I'm sure.

Anyhow, here's what my new hero Anthony posted on the granite story on Treehugger:

Most elements have naturally occurring radioactive isotopes. Most objects you encounter are mildly radioactive. For example, living next door to a nuclear power plant generally provides a radiation dose equivalent to eating one banana a day, or sleeping with someone else instead of by yourself.

This article speaks of picocuries but gives no information about what kind of dose people living in a home with such a counter top could be expected to actually receive. How many millirem/year would be much more relevant, since rem is the most widely accepted unit of biologically equivalent dose.

Natural background radiation in most parts of the human-inhabited world ranges from 300-600 millirem/year or so. In some it is as low as 200, in others as high as 10,000. And every study done comparing individuals experiencing different levels of background radiation thus far has shown no indication that low-level doses affect the rate of cancer in any statistically observable way.

And the comparison with smoking is not only unlikely, but misleading as well. Yes, smoking allows more radiation to get to the lungs- several thousand millirem per year, by some estimates I've seen. But that isn't why smoking causes cancer. Lung cancer caused by smoking comes from the chemical toxins in the cigarettes, not radiation. Radiation is actually a remarkably weak carcinogen. For example, the >100,000 atomic bomb survivors who have been studied extensively since 1945 have shown only a 6% higher rate of cancer than the general population.

Please, put the risks in perspective. Even taking for granted the hypothesis that low-dose radiation works just like high-dose radiation (the linear non-threshold hypothesis, that risk of cancer varies linearly with dose all the way down to 0 dose), very few deaths are caused by radiation. We knowingly live with many, many toxins and carcinogens in our home far more dangerous than granite counter tops. We willingly get into our cars and ride our bikes with nary a thought. This is as bad as the fear-mongering over the mercury in CFL's.

Anthony, I have no idea who you are but you deserve an award.

And away we go

My beloved New York Times ran an article in their Home and Garden section last week that has me bracing for a fallout. The piece was titled What's Lurking in Your Countertops and it talks about the radioactivity of granite counters.

OK, disclosure time. I have always known that granite counters were radioactive, but I have never mentioned it to a client. I've never mentioned it specifically to avoid the paranoid ramblings embodied by that Times article.

Here's what I know to be true. All igneous rocks (many sedimentary and metamorphic ones too) are radioactive. Granite is an igneous rock. Therefore, granite is radioactive. There, I said it. But so too is brick, drywall, concrete, bananas and the potassium in multi-vitamins. So for that matter are other people. People who sleep with someone are exposed to more radiation than people who sleep alone! Go ahead, make a headline out of that.

I have never heard another kitchen designer or granite supplier mention it. I can't imagine very many of them are aware that it is. Until last Thursday, I thought it was my cross to bear alone. But wait, it's not a cross at all. Granite is radioactive. So what? Radiation isn't any more inherently bad than rain is. People flip out when they hear that word. Radiation. There I said it again. Radiation isn't the boogey man under the bed. It's a natural process that you and I are surrounded by at all times. Natural, background radiation is to a nuclear bomb what a raindrop is to a flood. You can no sooner control or eliminate background radiation than you can the rain.

If you read the article closely enough, there are some calm and rational voices that are all but drowned out by the hypochondriacal author. To Wit:

Indeed, health physicists and radiation experts agree that most granite countertops emit radiation and radon at extremely low levels. They say these emissions are insignificant compared with so-called background radiation that is constantly raining down from outer space or seeping up from the earth’s crust,not to mention emanating from man made sources like X-rays, luminous watches and smoke detectors.

And this:

David J. Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University in New York, said the cancer risk from granite countertops, even those emitting radiation above background levels, is “on the order of one in a million.” Being struck by lightning is more likely.

But most telling of all was this little tidbit:

Allegations that granite countertops may emit dangerous levels of radon and radiation have been raised periodically over the past decade, mostly by makers and distributors of competing countertop materials. The Marble Institute of America has said such claims are “ludicrous” because although granite is known to contain uranium and other radioactive materials like thorium and potassium,the amounts in countertops are not enough to pose a health threat.

I can see all of the quartz manufacturers getting their press releases together already. But newsflash; quartz is another radioactive, igneous rock. And since quartz countertop materials like Silestone and Zodiaq are made from quartz and other stone aggregates they're going to be radioactive too.

None of this is any kind of breaking news nor is it in any way a health threat. The final point from that article I needed to see in order to judge the whole flap ludicrous was this:

Personal injury lawyers are already advertising on the Web for clients who think they may have been injured by countertops.

Sadly, when it comes to science versus the cult of personal injury in the courtroom, science seems to lose every time. Don't believe the hype!

Ahhhh life!

In a couple of hours the birds will sing, the crickets will chirp and the sun will shine. My long between-seasons winter will thaw and a combination of vague discontent, absolute moral bankruptcy and excruciatingly perfect period detail will once again rule Sunday nights. Mad Men is back!

This, from the Times:

“Mad Men” beguiles like a Christmas catalog of all the forbidden vices, especially smoking, drinking and social inequity. Yet the series is more than a period piece. It’s a sleek, hard-boiled drama with a soft, satirical core.

My last post about rainwater for a while, I promise

There is an online community dedicated to spreading information and awareness about sustainable water practices. They are called, fittingly enough, HarvestH2O.com and their website is worth spending some time on if any of this has struck a chord. From their website:

HarvestH2O.com is dedicated to the advancement of sustainable water management practices for individuals, families, communities, and businesses. We share knowledge and experiences in the following ways:

• advancing specific, common-sense recommendations for water conservation


• developing a best-practices repository in rainwater harvesting


• sharing stories, practical tips, cautions and notes of interest


• building on the experiences of community members who have already implemented water conservation solutions


• developing tools, templates and guidelines for building rainwater harvesting solutions educating individuals and organizations to shorten the learning process


• creating business justifications supporting water conservation as an economic investment providing a comprehensive list of vendors and products for residential and small-scale commerical water conservation projects

HarvestH2O is a great site for general research on the topic and they have an extensive, local directory of vendors who sell rainwater harvesting equipment, systems and training. Good job fellas, keep it up.

Dwell + Google = a match made in heaven

OK, now it's time for a shameless plug of my favorite corporate entities. A couple of months ago I wrote a gushing entry about Google's architectural rendering software, SketchUp. That was all the way back in March and I still stand by what I wrote then. I love SketchUp with a passion that borders on the unnatural. It seems I'm not the only one. My heroes and idols at Dwell Magazine have teamed up with Google SketchUp and they are holding a house design contest. You can get more information and an entry form here. From Dwell's website:

What does it mean to feel at home in the modern world? Dwell & Google SketchUp challenge you to explore what this means to you in the "Design Your
Dwelling" design competition featuring Google SketchUp software.

Most people define their home as a place where they feel comfortable and secure. But what does that actually look like? What would make it personal to you? Is it scale, materials, sustainability, environment? Only you know for sure. Entry period is July 3-August 31, 2008.

My enthusiasm for SketchUp has had the unique effect of empowering my math whiz friend from Tampa to the point where he's taught himself how to use the program to re-design his own house. Check out some of his work. I am impressed mightily. Now remember, this is the work of someone with no architectural or design training whatsoever. Granted, he has a love of technological solutions and innovations that makes me look like a Luddite, but an architect he ain't. You'd never know that from his work though. He send me his versions for my good-natured and loving critiques, one of which I've attached here.

Anyhow, go check out SketchUp and download it. It's a blast to play around with and learn. Then, check out Dwell's design-your-landmark-house contest, Design Your Dwelling. The whole thing's really slick. All of the entries have to fit on the same lot that you can find on Google Earth when you enter the contest. Think about entering. There's time.