Web Home: Radiation and Radon from Natural Stone W.J. Llope Rice University, Houston, TX

Houston KHOU Channel 11 aired a news story during the 10 p.m. broadcast on May 7, 2008 that investigated the possible dangers from natural stone countertops in homes in the Houston area. I contributed some on-air comments, as well as a short write-up. I have a dedicated gamma-ray detection system and will be using it to gather detailed radionuclide identification information from as many countertop stone samples that I can find. This page is the web home for my work on this subject.  So check back periodically! (& refresh this page in your browser if you've been here before!) my paper is now published in the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity (click to go to the paper on the ScienceDirect site) Volume 102, Issue 6, June 2011, Pages 620-629 If you have questions, please see my F.A.Q page Links: KHOU TV Story [HTML KHOU] [Video KHOU] [PDF]  May 7, 2008 "Radiation and Radon from Natural Stone" [PDF]  May 7, 2008 Rice News article [HTML]  May 15, 2008 NaI(Tl) Calibration Note [PDF]  May 18, 2008 Consumer Reports Blog [PDF]  July 3, 2008 N.Y. Times Article [PDF]  July 24, 2008 Houston Chronicle Article [PDF]  July 25, 2008 CW39 TV Story [HTML+Video CW39] [PDF]  Sept 1, 2008 NBC Today Show Story [Video NBC]  Sept 4, 2008 Long Island Newsday Article [PDF]  Sept 5, 2008 Omaha World-Herald Article [PDF]  Sept 8, 2008 Angie's List Magazine [PDF]  December, 2008 Minnesota Star Tribune [PDF] March 14, 2009 Universal Slate [PDF] February 24, 2010 If your question is not covered on the F.A.Q. page, or you want to discuss the test results that you have obtained, you can contact me via e-mail at SaxumSubluceo@gmail.com