Minnesota St. Cloud Granite City Causing Cancer Test Your Home for Dangerous Radon

St. Cloud MN is located in the heart of Minnesota. Population is approximately 69,000 and growing. St. Cloud Minnesota is referred to Granite City. Looking in the phone book for businesses named "Granite City something" is of abundance. Granite is native to the area and therefore, well, celebrated.

Granite City Days is held each summer with parades, concerts and various activities throughout Thursday and Sunday.

So would the great residents of St. Cloud be celebrating if they knew the Granite was killing them?

Granite is a natural source of radiation. Certain granites have higher radioactivity. Living in a city surrounded in and built upon Granite, this is a huge concern.

The number one leading cause of cancer for non-smokers is Radon. Granite contains Radon, an invisible gas inherent in rock. Therefore, Granite contaminated with Radon can cause lung cancer.

According to the National Cancer Institute, radon gas is the #2 cause of Lung Cancer in the US. The first, of course, is smoking.

Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself, let me explain.

In researching, I found that the scare of radiation from Granite came from countertops. I am NOT referring to that. I feel the countertops are fine because it is so low in measurement it would cause no real danger unless you are licking it daily. I am speaking of the Granite that is below us, in our waters and now in my streets!

Sauk Rapids, MN is adjacent to St. Cloud, MN. This town has recently redesigned the Downtown Atmosphere to be more tourist and visitor 'friendly.' The roads have been redesigned and widened, trees have been planted along sidewalks and what are in the medians and on the sides of the roads as benches?

Granite

Big ole blocks of Granite! For whatever reason, the City decided on placing blocks of Granite in the medians. Appealing? No. A danger? Very much so.

You can't see it, smell it or taste it-

You Must Test It

Radon gas is a radioactive element that is produced by the decay of uranium.

Uranium is present in almost all soil, rock and water. Rocks weather and break down to form soil, and soil can be washed by water and blown by wind, moving uranium into streams and lakes. The soil eventually reforms as rock.

Uranium gets into drinking water when groundwater dissolves minerals that contain uranium. Elevated levels of uranium are more likely to be found in drilled wells. (many people of Mn have drilled wells including my mother). Wells most likely to have high levels of uranium are those in areas with a granite bedrock. (which the Mississippi River shore is lined with)

During the 1980s,scientists discovered that radon gas can accumulate in homes and other buildings at concentrations that are typically tens of times greater than in outdoor air. Most indoor radon gradually seeps in through cracks or other openings in the ground floor. Houses that have unusually high concentrations of indoor radon are most likely atop rock and soil that contain unusually high uranium concentrations.

Certain soils and rocks that contain high levels of uranium also store natural deposits of radon:

• Granite
• Phosphate
• Shale
• Pitch blend

Homes built on granite rocks and decomposed granite rocks seem to have the greatest potential for elevated radon levels even if underlying rocks contain only average uranium concentrations. Now that is frightening!

Living in MN or any cold climate, heating is a must. Most heat their homes with a furnace. The furnace is located in the basement. Cellars and basements sunk into soils over granite can become a trap for radon gas. The radon can seep through cracks and wells (which are also in the basement) and be drawn to the living areas of your home through your heating system.

Since gas condenses at lower temperatures, radon levels in soil are higher when it’s cold; a situation that is further compounded when there is a cap of snow on the ground.

The Exposure Route:

• Although radon is chemically inert and electrically uncharged, the radon progeny formed via the radioactive decay series are in fact electrically charged and readily attach themselves to microscopic dust particles present throughout an indoor environment.
• Dust particles are frequently inhaled into the lungs or ingested (from drinking water) into the gastrointestinal tract.
• The inhaled particles immediately attach to the lung alveoli while the ingested radon progeny are absorbed into the bloodstream and ultimately transported to the lungs.
• The deposited progeny readily undergo subsequent radioactive decay processes by emitting alpha radiation which slowly penetrates the inner lung surface, disrupts DNA structure within lung cells, and can potentially induce lung cancer.

Copyright University of Minnesota

Silicosis is a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust, causing inflammation in the lungs. Also known as Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis.

Silicosis cannot be cured, but you can prevent it if you take specific steps to protect yourself and your family.

The other thing that radiation exposure does is interfere with the gene pool. Causing genetic defects, pregnancy losses, lowered fertility and all the things that happen when you disrupt people’s genetic makeup. Uranium is basically heavy metal poisoning, which can cause neurological damage or endocrine damage

Listen, I have no proof of the Granite in Granite City (St. Cloud/Sauk Rapids) is causing cancer or killing us all slowly, but as a Nurse I see many young people with cancers, neurological disorders and numerous miscarriages. More than typical or expected.

The obituaries are filled with 35-55 year old people passing of cancer and unfortunately a lot younger these days (9-15 yrs of age). I worked in Hospice Care for numerous years and was shocked at the clients MY AGE I cared for with no family history and no real "cause."

I feel that Granite is quite the obvious answer. Play it safe.....test your home for radiation.