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Who knew countertops had nuclear aspirations?

Uranium is right in its element when it comes to fueling nuclear reactors, but when it comes to fueling your family, it’s less than ideal. That’s why Rice nuclear physicist Bill Llope is on the hunt for granite kitchen countertops that might be emitting dangerous levels of radiation. As part of a KHOU Channel 11 news report, Llope tested a home’s natural stone countertops with a Geiger counter. “In five specific locations on the countertops,” he said, “the radiation emission was alarming.” His curiosity piqued, Llope located about 20 peer-reviewed articles on granite radiation rates. He also began collecting his own samples of stones that are commonly available as countertops and testing them both with simple Geiger counters as well as with a more sensitive spectrometer. He’s compiling his findings on a dedicated Web site and preparing them for publication in a peer-reviewed journal — and that’s sure to fuel wider public interest in the possible health risks posed by some granite countertops.