Dear MIA Member:

On Tuesday, we are meeting with the EPA to solicit their support.  But the Agency appears to be backing away from last Friday’s strong reassurances about granite countertops.  We hope to engage them in efforts to allay groundless fears, but it’s not clear what the reaction will be.

However, we continue to wrestle with lingering media coverage of the NYT story based on junk science that suggests granite countertops may pose a health risk.

Here’s what we’re doing to fight the situation:

1. We are meeting with the U.S. EPA right now to ask their cooperation in aggressively publicizing the agency’s support for granite.  While the EPA normally does not make such public statements, we are urging them to do this since their comments in last Thursday’s New York Times contributed to the public panic we face.
2. To expand our efforts to recruit independent, qualified experts to calm the groundless fears, we are working with scientific consulting firms that have access to researchers with impeccable credentials.  We have yet to find any scientists who demonstrate any concern about granite countertops.  In fact, they seem overwhelmingly supportive of our efforts and incredulous that the media are reporting the junk science.
3. We are working with independent researchers to assess the implications of past scientific studies on granite countertops.  While opponents have exaggerated the import of these studies, one research group advises us that most findings reported to date are flawed because they ignore ventilation and air transfer commonly found in homes.  That means most radon-scare studies assume people lived in totally sealed buildings, not homes with windows, doors and vent fans that allow radon gas to escape.
4. We are doing media outreach both nationally and locally.  Reporters are most interested in the story angle that consumers are being needlessly panicked by junk science.  Several journalists have asked for access to affected consumers.  We have anecdotes – someone reported that they heard a consumer moved his family into a hotel to get away from the granite counters in their kitchen – but we need to offer up specific consumers.  Please forward any specific names (miainfo@marble-institute.com), contact information and stories if you have them.
5. Now we want to take the effort to the grassroots.  To that end, we have developed some draft letters that we ask MIA members to send to their advertising contacts in local media.  The letters express disappointment that the media outlet ran the New York Times story – or another ill-informed story – and demand that factual stories be published to provide balance.  We are not advocating a media boycott, but we do encourage you to send a personalized version of these notes to the local media advertising reps with whom you do business.
6. We also recommend that you individually engage in media communication – by sending letters to the editor using the draft letters as a guide or by posting entries on the blogs where you see granite maligned.  Attached to this note, please find some messages you should feel free to use in these posts.
7. We are rallying international members to get involved.  They are concerned about the false allegations and support for our defense of the industry.  We hope to report on additional progress on this front.
8. We are working with a researcher who has done preliminary radiation assessments of granite and other solid surface material.  Preliminary findings suggest that several synthetic stone products are as radioactive as granite. 
9. We have created updated radon messages that can be used in conversations with customers and all concerned parties.

All this is really only the tip of the iceberg.  In coming days, we’ll try to provide you more information about specific activities underway – as well as more information you might be able to use as you deal with clients.

As always, visit the MIA Website for the latest information.

Keep monitoring the situation and share any public feedback you notice.

Sincerely,

Jim Hogan
President
Marble Institute of America