Some soapstone contains certain impurities that are not necessarily ideal potentially for food preparation. (via heating the stone potentially more so a concern) I was looking into this stone as a means for cooking on/inside as it has a small but growing following for use as a material to manufacture pots and pans. (since every single cooking product out there releases chemicals into your body, except for apparently very few options, soapstone being one of those) I cannot speak about Soapstone sourced in Texas, however, from my research the purest soapstone comes from Brazil. There are some examples here in Canada as well with higher purities but equally as many with impurities it seems. So it is a hit or miss on that front. I would assume the companies involved in extraction/testing etc. need to be supremely dependable and trustworthy, and equally as such, would be the case with the counter top fabricators supplying and installing the product. If quality control is not maintained, then how will you ever know the quality of the stone? The issue with soapstone is it is often heavily impure due to the widely varying presence of talc, which interestingly itself, is often guaranteed to be contaminated naturally with asbestos fibers. So I've read somewhat across the board. So the less talc percent the better, that is my simple logic... Given you are using it only for a counter-top, for food preparation at most, at the end of the day, the stone needs to be sealed like porous stones, should they not?, and thus the above concerns become possibly irrelevant either way if you are not actually cutting or heating the stone. Although, speaking to the other important characteristic of this stone, it is one of the most 'soft' examples of a counter-top stone option, and further to that, the degree to how soft an already soft stone is, will depend on the concentration of talc, which again, how will you ever know the concentration of? Will these companies provide you a mass-spectrometer laboratory test report with each stone? The answer would be a resounding "No"... Thus, in summary, unless you are especially partial to the aesthetic appeal of this stone, and furthermore, cannot find any other stone example similar, I would not personally recommend this stone. There is harder, durable, more scratch resilient, and reliably composed stone options out there that I would consider first.

Taken from the AG & M website regarding soapstone with my comments bellow...

SOAPSTONE

HIGHLIGHTS

• Incredibly low-maintenance, develops a beautiful patina over time

(low maintenance in what sense? because it is easy to repair? and does not stain? that is not enough of a selling point, countless stones offer these qualities and/or a good fabricator can repair most stones by simple means)

• Heat- and stain-resistant

(agreed, one of its best characteristics)

• Offers unique soft color with light flowing veins

(not necessarily unique as you can find other examples, certainly manufactured quartz options are available in the plenty)

• Easier to cut and shape than marble or granite, so joints can be made inconspicuous

(Marble is already soft enough and easy to shape, while I will agree granite is not as fun to work with by hand grinder, however, is it easier to cut for a industrial CNC machine, water-jet cutting machine? Yes technically, but these machines nearly cut anything regardless of hardness, so this is somewhat an irrelevant benefit. And who is this benefiting, the client or the fabricator? The answer is the fabricator, since the speed to make cuts can be completed quicker, although I would be hard-pressed to believe a fabricator will extend to you a discount due to you selecting a more efficient material for them to work with. Also, a good fabricator should know how to make most stone joins inconspicuous, although, keep in mind this really highly depends on the surface patterns of the particular stone as well, since larger more defined patterns will not be as easy to hide. Moreover, there are products out there that a fabricator will use to conceal joints, like specialty grouts, which if I am remembering correctly, can be tinted to match the counter-tops.)

• Denser than granite, completely non-porous

(sure that may be true, but high density does not necessarily equal hardness or durability, such in the case of this stone. The denseness ironically, mostly adds to offset the poor quality of the stone being soft since, upon scratching, the density helps to conceal damages, and the softness to help smooth them out. So in essence, these two positive qualities help the stone to mitigate its bad qualities. So are we breaking even here or are we in the plus? Granite or quartzite on the other hand, can be so hard that they are incredibly durable simply due to there resilience to being damaged in the first place vs. soapstone which is durable because of its ability to mitigate damages that occur easily... Which would you prefer?)

• Use mineral oil to enhance beauty instead of a sealer

(hmm, I am no expert in soapstone admittingly, I only speak to what I have read and learned from others, and my experience in this industry, however, my gut tells me that if a stone does actually contain asbestos, even if it is trace amounts within the talc concentration of the stone, it feels illogical to forgo sealing a stone that upon being scratched, could possibly release asbestos fibers in the air.. (I would very much like an expert on the subject to clarify this for me, for my own knowledge if I am wrong..)

• Chemically inert – won’t react to acidic substances

(agreed, one of its best characteristics. Coupled with soapstone's heat and stain resistance, this is the reason soapstone is being used to manufacture pots and pans)

• High talc content means it’s softer than other stones, but scratches can be easily repaired by sanding slightly with fine-grit sandpaper and applying a light coat of mineral oil

(high talc content is the biggest negative aspect of the stone, for all the reasons touched upon above. 1. Hardness 2. Unreliability as to the degree to which it will be soft 3. Lack of durability at the end of the day due to its susceptibility to scratching 4. Talc's natural characteristic to consist of asbestos fibers within its talc concentration, unless its "asbestos free certified" so remember to get your laboratory certificate with the purchase of each slab!