Based on reporting published from Bloomberg Businessweek by Josh Eidelson, artificial stone countertop fabrication is causing a deadly wave of silicosis among workers in California. Cutting, grinding and polishing the slabs releases respirable crystalline silica as dust into the air, which scars and permanently damages the lungs. Artificial quartz can contain up to 93% crystalline silica, far more than marble and many types of granite.

California has identified more than 600 silicosis cases linked to artificial stone. Most of the affected workers are Latino men, and their median age at diagnosis is 46. At least 35 California workers have died, at a median age of 52. The disease can also lead to lung cancer, kidney failure and a number of other deadly conditions. Unlike the silicosis historically associated with decades of mining, cases tied to artificial stone are appearing in younger workers after far shorter exposure.

Workers and families have filed hundreds of lawsuits against companies across the countertop supply chain, alleging that manufacturers failed to adequately warn about the hazards or misrepresented the slabs as comparable to natural stone. Manufacturers have blamed fabrication shops and worker safety practices while denying wrongdoing. But records described in the report show that air testing at a manufacturer’s own fabrication facilities repeatedly found silica levels well above the permissible exposure limit.

California is expected to become the first state to adopt an emergency regulation that will lead to a ban on fabricating and installing artificial stone, following Australia’s prohibition on the product. The ban would acknowledge that existing state requirements for safer processing are not enough: The California Department of Industrial Relations says compliance is too low, the industry is too fragmented and many small shops escape inspection.

“The standards board’s decision reflects the urgent need to protect workers from a product that has proven uniquely hazardous,” said Industrial Relations Department spokesperson Denisse Gómez.

At the same time, a bill advancing in Congress, bill H.R. 5437 — the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Stone Slab Products Act — would wipe out hundreds of workers’ lawsuits and shield manufacturers from accountability. This bill would be an egregious slap in the face to injured workers, taking away an important path to justice while protecting the companies whose products are at the center of the harm.

For workers, a silicosis diagnosis brings years of worsening breathlessness, painful treatment and the knowledge that the lung disease may ultimately take their lives. As their health declines, workers can lose their ability to earn a living while families shoulder mounting medical bills and care responsibilities. Even lung transplants may offer only temporary relief, with no cure for the disease. 

This opinion by the California Applicants' Attorneys Association communications team is republished, with permission, from the CAAA website.