Rice University nuclear physicist Bill Llope has embarked on a new avenue of inquiry that at first might seem to come under the purview of the home economist. He’s conducting tests in the kitchens of Houston area homes. Actually, Llope of Rice’s Bonner Nuclear Laboratory is using a Geiger counter to check for radiation in natural stone countertops. Carrying out a test at the request of a local television station, Prof. Llope located five specific areas on a kitchen countertop where radiation emissions were elevated. Later, he measured the spectrum of gamma radiation coming from the countertop. The data collected on campus indicated the presence of uranium ore along with traces of other radioactive nuclei—i.e., potassium and thorium. Learn more in the Rice Universitypress release. Testing needn’t be a scary process. It you’ve a question, a reaction, or an opinion to share, log on to the Interference Technology’s web-based TestingForum.
RadHaz Comes to the Kitchen
