Cleveland, OH — The Marble Institute of America, terming its efforts “a fight for the business lives” of its members, has embarked on an extensive legal, scientific and media campaign to protect the granite industry from what the association charged are unwarranted attacks “based on junk science and inconsistent testing results,” suggesting that granite countertops may pose a significant health risk to consumers.

The Cleveland, OH-based MIA, the nation’s leading natural stone trade association, last month charged that consumers “are being needlessly panicked” by misleading and unbalanced media coverage initiated by manufacturers of synthetic stone products engaged in an effort “to undermine consumer confidence” in granite.

“This is hardly the first time competitors of natural granite have used junk science to confuse the media and scare the public about granite – obviously to drive sales of their own products,” the MIA charged. “This round of assaults is particularly aggressive and sustained. Attackers clearly seek more than to simply increase their own sales; they are trying to cripple this industry.

“We are saddened that anyone would attempt to prey on public fears – particularly those generated through the dissemination of misleading information – to benefit financially from consumer panic.”

The latest firestorm over the potential health risks posed by granite heightened dramatically with the July 24 publication of an article in The New York Times.