Hi Hokie. Your granite could be "named" anything but if I had to venture a guess, I would say Giallo Veneziano?

Are you in Virginia? We are in Virginia too and our house had very high Radon levels (before granite)so even if you think you are in a low potential area you never know! Fortunately, radon is very easy to take care of.

Thanks Karalouise. We were in VA, lived there all of my life until 6 months ago when my husband was transferred to AL. We owned a house previously that we had a radon test done on prior to purchase. It was high and the buyer had to put in a mitigation system, so we're somewhat familiar with the process. We don't have basements here, so I didn't think we had much to worry about...oh well.

Thanks for the guess. I looked at a couple of photos on the web and ours little to have more black in it than the photos, but guess every slab could look different. Unfortunately, Giallo Veneziano is from Brazil, and that seems to be on of the 'hot spots' mentioned for hot stone. I was just trying to narrow down where it could be from. I'm already freaking out enough about this radon/radiation thing. As a mother, seems like very single day there is some new hazard out there that we are being warned about. If it's not plastics, the sun, mosquito transmitted diseases (just my list from the last week or so), then it's granite!

The world is a dangerous place. The only way to really protect your children from it is to keep them in a box. There is no real evidence which granites can be a problem, how prevelent they are or where they came from. Do the radon tests for your house to make you feel better and take care of it if there is a problem. Would you be less concerned if you had increased radon levels from the soil they play on and in or the cement in the foundation? Trying to figure out what granite you have and where it came from is fruitless regarding this issue because no reliable information exists that any others have any more or less incidence of potentially problematic stones. And even if it was determined the type stone in your house NEVER has anything but zero levels, that would not mean there is no radon in your house.
By the way, yours looks to me like New venetian Gold, Giallo Ornamentale or St Cecilia, which are all similar with different amts of golds, browns and black. The only specific granites I have seen mentioned so far regarding the radon thing are Shivakashi and Creme Bordeaux, which are pinks and burgandies.
Seriously, I understand you wanting to decrease your childs risks, but with gangs, drugs, violence, serious illness and abuse, countertops seem like they should be pretty low on the list.
Like I said, my advise is test your house for radon and try to chill out.
What ever you do, don't replace them with expensive soap stone. According to one quote from Al, once the granite scare is "rolling" he plans to address asbestos and silica in soap stone. I would hate to have you put a large amt of money into something only to freak out again. I guess it doesn't bother him that people might be dying from soap stone countertops as long as they are not as big a competetor to Solid Surface. So he won't go there unitl he has panicked every one into tearing out their granite. Then Soap Stone will move up on the list.
If you want to be really safe according to Al, throw out your countertops and just buy Solid Surface from him.

Sue

Thanks Sue, I'm trying to put this all in perspective. I think I was happier not knowing about all of this :-).

I agree with you - I can't protect myself & my family 100% and there is a risk with everything (I replied to Karenfromknoxville who's message was along similar lines as yours). Funny thing is there was just a story on Yahoo about the 10 most toxic things in our home. Granite wasn't mentioned, but of course the typical offenders were (cosmetics, BPA plastic baby bottles, cleaning supplies, etc.), but also on the list was pressed wood due to the resin that binds the wood. I know solid surface counters aren't wood, but they're still binded with some sort of glue. At this point, I think I'm taking my chances with granite - I'm sure if they studied all counter top material there would be something toxic with them all. I ordered some radon tests and will test myself and go from there. But if I'm going to die of something, I guess I'd rather it be something that was natural instead of concocted in a chem lab (which quite frankly I think is a big problem with our environment/health issues today). :-)

BTW, got confirmation from my builder, I have New Venetian Gold.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dangerous home products

Maybe I am wrong but I thought they are only suspicious of some of the newest different granites arriving. On one of the other threads on the subject there was a link that included home test for $25.00 to put your mind at ease.

Good Morning America re-opened a can or worms yesterday reporting that cell phones cause brain cancer. Previously this report was discreditted and now it is credible again! The local channels picked it up by the time the evening news came on, too. So if you aren't growing your own organic vegetables in your backyard and living in a plastic bubble you can always find something to worry about. Then there's freak accidents too.

That's it! I'm moving to a remote cave the the deep wilderness and never coming out except to find berries and twigs to knaw on.

That's it! I'm moving to a remote cave the the deep wilderness and never coming out except to find berries and twigs to knaw on.

hokie, if it makes you feel any better, my husband is an Industrial Hygienist here in DC so it is his job to study and deal with hazardous material. He thinks the granite issue is ridiculous. (Although maybe he could make a fortune renting out his Geiger counter to people here on GW:)
we have 3 young kids and if either of us thought for a second there was a possibility of them getting sick from our countertops we would pull them out. at the same time, we still have our cell phones and nutra sweet, and we still drive our kids to school......all of which come with risks, none of which are high enough for us to give these things up.
i guess if the granite kills us, we can use our countertops as headstones and save our family a fortune;)

Here is a link that might be useful: Industrial Hygiene

"i guess if the granite kills us, we can use our countertops as headstones and save our family a fortune;)"

Hahahaha! I cannot believe the amount of hysteria that silly article has stirred in the last couple of days.

I guess this Radon scare in granite is great advertisement for radon inspectors. You probably have more in the ground your house is built on.

Thanks KaraLouise. Actually the house that we had a radon issue in was in Herndon. We had it tested prior to our purchase (then pulled out the laminate and put in Baltic Brown granite, so I'm sure that just added to it!). Most of our neighbors/friends in that area had no idea about radon and alot of the neighbors had lived in their houses for 15+ years at the time. My husband thinks I'm nuts (and I feel on the verge of it), but I've ordered some kits from the state to test for radon, and figured we'll go from there.

BTW, speaking of the news, man do I miss Jim Vance & Doreen on channel 4, as well as George, Sonny, & company on the Redskins Report! We joke how the news down here in AL is "D list".

Jim and Doreen are awesome!! Although I could do without Liz Crenshaw!! I wouldn't miss George and Sonny either (GO COWBOYS:) It could be much worse, imagine if you didn't have access to CNN, MSNBC or Fox News!!

I envy you, I would LOVE to leave the DC area for somewhere like Alabama. I grew up in Texas and Oklahoma and after being in No. Va for 14 years have decided I am a small town girl at heart......

In our Alexandria house we switched from laminate to Baltic Brown too. Now we are in Fairfax Station and switching from some unknown granite to either Bordeaux or Red Dragon (that should tell you just how concerned I am about it's safety)

Hijack warning - and I'll use Hokie98 as my scapegoat. Glenn Brenner was easily the best and funniest sportscaster that I (and many, many others) ever saw. Quite a few people still reminisce about him long after his death in 1992.

Here is a link that might be useful: Glenn Brenner memories

Funny...KaraLouise - Liz is a bit annoying, but what about Pat...darn, what's his last name? He always had so much drama, esp if it snowed! My husband is a Cowboys fan, and I could care less, but we loved Sonny & George, and John Riggins. It was the best!

I hear you on the DC thing - I grew up on the Rappahannock River/Ches Bay and moved to NoVa after college. I lived in Leesburg (before it exploded) and Burke, then we bought our first house in Herndon, and left that 3 years ago to go out just past Warrenton. I'm a country/small town girl at heart and just couldn't take the NoVa scene anymore. We were lucky, my husband traveled most of the week, just need to go to the office in Chantilly once or twice a week, and I worked for SAIC, and they let me telecommute until our daughter was born, 3 yrs ago this fall. I have to admit though, out around Warrenton has got to be some of the pretty land in the country. I didn't fully realize it until we left. It's nice to be in a small town now, but I'm a VA gal at heart I believe. My husband's job got us down here, but our dream is that in a couple of years there will be opportunities maybe in Charlottesville or Richmond. Of course my husband works for a plumbing wholesaler that has kitchen & bath showrooms. He thinks this is all bologna.

I must admit, I miss some of NoVA...I miss the news (including The Post, reading it online just isn't the same), the shopping, and the variety of restaurants, although I'm not complaining about the variety of seafood joints here!

And dbaguy...I don't know...George Michael is a feisty one, especially when you get a slightly-in-the-bag Sonny Jurgenson with him! I also miss Tony Kornheiser & Mike Wilbon, although I can catch them on ESPN but never think about it. To be honest, I'm not that big of a sports fan, but they're all great personalities on-air.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! PAT COLLINS!!! HA HA HA!! How could I have left him off my list? My husband and I laugh about him all the time! We have to keep him around, how else could we lighten up the nightly news? My husband does a great impression "And then the suspect (long pause) jumped (long pause) in the white (long pause), cadillac car (long pause)and then (long,long pause)he drove away." Okay, it doesn't translate very well via computer but I know you get it!

Dbaguy, I got here in 94 so I missed out on the Glenn Brenner days!! However, my husband and I aren't really into the NFL. We are die hard college football fans!! Our Saturdays are spent with Kirk, Lee and Chris over at College Game Day on ESPN! BOOMER SOONER!

My apologies to everyone who came to this thread to identify granite! Hokie, Here's a link to bring back memories!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pat Collins

Thanks - I loved that video, it's so, well, Pat! Vance is my man though - I love those quirky stories he'll tell at the very end of the broadcast, and he's laughing the entire time.

And I agree, I love spending my Saturdays with Kirk H - the others are cool too, but of course Kirk just makes it a viewing pleasure :-). But it's crazy down here in AL. People live & die by Alabama & Auburn football. The weird thing is these people have ABSOLUTELY NO TIES with the schools...it's just insane. They call into the local paper every day saying things like "You know Alabama bet OSU 20 yrs ago, so Alabama has to be a better football team." That's the only reason we get the paper, for the entertainment value.

Dbaguy - Like Kara, I heard great things about Brenner, but he too was before my time. George Michael said he retired/was forced out/whatever that they don't make them like they used to - everyone has to be too politically correct. I'm sure it was alot of fun when he was on the air too.

I'm just glad to be talking about something so much more fun than radon!

Great thread, ladies! Go Cowboys!

karalouise--small world--I live in Fairfax Station and grew up in Dallas.

lsander, it IS a small world isn't it? My husband and I actually chose Ffx. Station (South Run) because it reminded of us OK/TX...large lots, lots of space between homes etc. I was just in Dallas not too long ago and I cannot believe how much it has grown. Before long, people are going to be commuting to downtown from the Red River! Speaking of the Red River, my boys (my daughter could care less) have the OU/Texas countdown going!! It is so much fun for our extended family because half of us (the better half:) are Sooners, the other half are Longhorns and we all meet in Dallas for the debauchery (or as much debauchery that can take place with children present!!

Hokie, Oklahoma is just like Alabama in regards to the Oklahoma Sooners. People live and bleed the Crimson and Cream......and most people did not go to school there. My brother in law went to BAMA and a few years ago when they played OU we went down there for the game. The NICEST fans I have ever met!! A great group of people! And oh yeah, Herbie is pretty easy on the eyes!

Again, my apologies to those coming to identify granite!!

Obviously you can tell by my name that I root for VT, but hubby is an Aggie (as is my FIL & SIL). I loved it a couple of years ago when they played each other, and of course VT won both years. He swore, "oh, just wait until your boys get to Kyle Field." Whoop-dee-doo...of course the beginning of every year he says,
"I think this is our year." Then by the end of the season, he says "oh, we're just rebuilding; wait until next year." I joke with him that A&M is now a basketball school, they don't know much about football anymore :-). Of course he's said the same "this is their year/maybe not" for the Cowboys every year too, last year was the exception I guess.

karalouise, I am so glad you stated that about the Red Dragon and Bordeaux, because I already have my Japunara(sp?) Bordeaux granite picked out for our Master Bath.

karalouise--small world again--I'm in South Run Oaks. We're neighbors. We probably know some of the same folks. We should meet!

hokie--I'm an Aggie, I guess. My Masters is from East Tx State Univ that now has merged with A&M and is called TX A&M Commerce. So no Aggie jokes for me.

lsander, we definitely should meet! I actually have a soft spot for the Aggies. My Mom and Dad (originally from Port Arthur) went there AND they are the only team that despises the Longhorns as much as us Sooners:) Funny story, my oldest son (going into 6th at Sangster)is a Sooner junkie. He said, "I am going to play quarterback at OU, if I don't get into OU, I will go to A&M, if I don't get into A&M, I guess I'll go to UVA". How funny, that he thinks UVA will be his safety!! I guess I better pray that he gets into OU or A&M because if his 5th grade study skills carry over to high school, we definitely won't be going to UVA!!

karalouise--email me by clicking on my name.

Your project is yummy!!!

See, radioactive granite is bringing folks together :-).