CLEVELAND, OH -- Building on the library research it has already commissioned, the Marble Institute of America (MIA) has announced the completion of two new granite and radon/radiation studies focusing on the occupational safety of quarry and fabrication workers. Previous research had been centered on consumer safety. The results of the new studies, conducted by Environmental Health & Engineering of Cambridge, MA, overwhelmingly prove that the risk granite fabrication and quarry workers face is insignificant with respect to radon and radiation. Additionally, the study focusing on fabrication workers has been peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of Radiological Protection.
The MIA sought to look into these safety concerns due to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presenting an abstract that included some exploratory research pertaining to certain occupational exposure scenarios related to granite, namely quarry workers and fabricators. "When we learned that the EPA would be looking into these issues and that there was a lack of reliable information on the topic, the MIA decided to take a leadership role and facilitate the necessary studies to confirm employee safety," said MIA Executive Vice President and CEO, Jim Hieb.