Radon Found In Granite Countertops

The best course is to be afraid of everything

gnomic's picture

What does granite counters, cell phones, and CFL light bulbs have in common? People are telling you to be afraid of them. Each contains a a fraction of a minuscule amount of something that is known to be bad - Radon, radiation, and mercury, respectively. The trace amounts are no big deal. For example, unless you seal your house, breath from the lowest part of your house for 30 years and never go out, you might get sick from radon. If you have your cell phone implanted in your head and run it 24/7 for 30 years or so, you might increase your risk of cancer by a fraction of a percent. If you a breaking and sniffing CFL light bulbs as a hobby, you might get sick in a few months.

You have better chances of getting struck by lightening and winning the lottery. On the same day.

A lot of zealots want you to join in on their paranoia or just want to sell you something. A better course of action is to understand that you have a 100% chance of dying and that everything is harmful to some degree. Such is life. You can spend it running around worrying about small things and wasting your money to protect you from imaginary threats, or you can rank the things to worry about and deal with the ones that make a real difference.

Try driving without the cell phone in your ear. Look both ways before crossing the street. Quit smoking. Eat healthy and exercise. Decide to be happy. Get a dog. Doing any of these things is proven to increase your odds of living longer and better more than the odds of risk from all of the minor negative things put together and then some.

So quit trying to find things to worry about. Be happy. And make a better environment by NOT buying something.