Thread: Radioactivity of natural stones

Originally Posted by bluesman7

I think that all stone is radioactive to some degree. My understanding is that the radioactive minerals are ubiquitous and that geological processes sometimes sort and concentrate them into deposits. Houses in Colorado that have contact or exposure to rock or rocky soil often have radon issues.

As a professional in the field of radiation protection I couldn't have put it better. In summary, it's pretty unlikely that any of the natural stones we use for honing would have significant radioactive content, and certainly very unlikely to present any kind of radiation hazard in normal use.

However, one scenario where I could see a hazard arising would be where stones with significant radioactive content were being processed by sawing, grinding and polishing. Operations like these could produce respirable dust which would need to be controlled both for worker safety and environmental reasons. In most jurisdictions there are strong regulations governing stone processing aimed at controlling dusts as the detrimental effects of silica and asbestiform minerals have been well known for a long time.

So the short answer is there is minimal hazard to hone users but companies that process stone need to thoroughly assess the risks of processing, storage and waste management.