Man in disbelief after using radiation detector in his kitchen (2024)

When thinking of radiation, rarely do we consider the levels inside our homes, but a Minnesota resident shocked the internet after revealing the unexpectedly high levels he discovered.

In a viral Reddit post, user u/thecolorofblind shared the unusually high Geiger counter reading that he captured inside his kitchen. The accompanying image showed a reading of 101 counts per minute, which is far higher than the regular background levels of between 5 and 60 counts per minute.

Fortunately, the Redditor, whose real name is Travis, wasn't too perturbed when he saw the high reading on the kitchen counters, telling Newsweek that it's "to be expected" near a granite surface.

As someone who loves science, Travis, from Rochester, purchased the Geiger counter "just for fun." He was curious to learn more about the nearby background radiation, but the reading in his kitchen certainly piqued his interest.

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"I have a new house and was able to pick out the granite from a Minnesota quarry used to make the countertops," Travis said. "I set the Geiger counter on them and noticed that they were showing a reading slightly above background levels.

"Moving the device around, I found that there were at least two areas that are more active. The one spot that ended up setting off the Geiger counter's alarm has a lot of course-grained mineralization. It looks like it formed in a vein within the larger slab."

Following the discovery that the "countertops occasionally set off" his Geiger counter, Travis shared the image on Reddit. In a matter of days, the post has been viewed millions of times and gained more than 21,000 upvotes.

How Do Geiger Counters Work?

To measure radiation levels, a Geiger counter works by having a sealed tube filled with gas that the radiation enters. According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, there is a wire inside the tube that attracts electrons while creating ion pairs, and that sends a current through the wire.

The current from the wire is what produces the radiation reading that appears on the screen, as the counts per minute refers to the number of ion pairs created every 60 seconds. The machine will click every time an ion pair is formed, which indicates how much radiation is around.

It's also highlighted that radiation naturally comes from the sun, uranium in the soil, radon and certain types of rock, including granite.

Social Media Reaction

After posting the Geiger counter measurement on Reddit, Travis has been inundated with responses, as many people showed their concern for his health and safety. But he insists there's nothing to be worried about, and he certainly doesn't plan to move.

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"I'm not worried, I'm actually fascinated by the science of it," he said. "While the alarm does go off, I am neither sitting or laying directly on my countertops for hours, months or years on end. If I was, then maybe I'd have something to worry about.

"The risk caused by my countertops is low, and the higher reading is isolated to one spot on them. So yes, I'm keeping them."

Rather than fearing the radiation, Travis jests that he was in fact "really excited" about the discovery. He's also lent the Geiger counter to his friends so they can test it out in their own homes, too.

"We are surrounded by a certain level of radioactivity. Being in the Midwest, radon is a public health concern, and you can also find radioactivity in your smoke detectors, and those can save lives," he told Newsweek.

With more than 590 comments on the post at the time of writing, many Reddit users were intrigued by the unexpected radioactivity in his home. One comment reads: "Welp, I don't want new countertops anymore."

Another person responded: "I work in a shop that makes stone countertops. We've found uranium ores in slabs before."

Another commenter wrote: "Real granite countertop. Natural granite has natural uranium in it."

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