Andrew Grossman
A legal battle over the safety and regulations of “fabricated stone” used in countertops is developing in California. Studies reveal that working with the material even with current industry safety standards results in inhaling silica mineral particles, leading workers to contract the debilitating and deadly disease silicosis.
Because of its very high concentrations of silica, fabricated stone is much more dangerous than natural stone, though industry groups say there are no safety issues or health hazards if the work is performed according to best practices, and that stricter regulations would harm the Californian economy—that is, their profit margins.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that 2.3 million people in the US are exposed to silica at work. The disease is incurable, disabling, and sometimes fatal. The Center for Disease Control released a study in 2019 highlighting worker disability and deaths from silicosis in Colorado, Texas, and Washington, with most of the workers under 50 years old.
California’s San Fernando Valley is seeing many of the silicosis cases from countertop production workers as it is a manufacturing hub for countertops. Construction workers also face exposure to the dangerous silica during preparation and installation. The workers struck by the disease in California are as young as 27 and hundreds are predicted to die in the coming years, according to California’s occupational safety agency. The agency wants to strengthen regulations and compliance, and is considering pushing for a ban on fabricated stone.
The LA County Business Federation points to the housing crisis in California as a reason to not increase regulation, because eliminating the deadly practice would ostensibly raise the cost of constructing new housing. Study after study shows that increasing housing stock does not alleviate homelessness or the housing crisis facing workers.
Attorney Raphael Metzger is suing fabricated stone manufacturing companies on behalf of a number of workers struck down with the disease in LA County, including some who used all the industry-standard safety regulations—respirators, wet cutting, and ventilated work spaces. Metzger is calling for a ban on engineered stone while also highlighting the industry’s reliance on low wage, mainly immigrant workforces in small shops as the reason for the widespread non-compliance with regulations.
image: Stone cutter, still from Federal workplace safety film
