Newsflash. Silica is in natural stone too.

2x4 wood even has its own warnings.

When cut, the particulate matter is released.

Anonymous wrote:This has been an eye opener for me. I will never buy engineered stone again. No one needs engineered stone. It should be banned.

It is just too dangerous for workers. The article states, “ L.A. County is exploring whether to go further and ban the sale and installation of “silica engineered stone” entirely.” I think this will happen and then the state of CA will ban engineered stone. Once that happens other states will too.

I'm definitely not ripping out my 90s granite after reading this. I'll work with it.

Anonymous wrote:The government is going to have to step up. You can’t rely on the market or the industry to regulate itself, but this is happening in America. It’s well within our power to fix the problem if people in government cared about these workers.

Tell that to the politicians who keep wanting government to be cut back.

Anonymous wrote:This has been an eye opener for me. I will never buy engineered stone again. No one needs engineered stone. It should be banned.

It is just too dangerous for workers. The article states, “ L.A. County is exploring whether to go further and ban the sale and installation of “silica engineered stone” entirely.” I think this will happen and then the state of CA will ban engineered stone. Once that happens other states will too.

Unfortunately, even if California does ban engineered stone, the majority of the nation probably will not. California is known for environmental protection laws and progressive laws protecting workers rights. But many states do not and will not enact similar legislations instead trying to place the burden on companies and manufacturers to implement worker protections, even if those protections are insufficient.

The best bet it so come up with safety gear that is specifically designed for silica protection and require all manufacturers to provide such equipment for all workers. This is what would be most likely to get approved and enforced.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t be daft of course it’s the inhaled silicates. That means safety practices. Btw people have been dying of silicosis since the dawn of mining and quarrying. It’s not new.

Mining has safety protocols issued from MSHA. If the company doesn’t follow them, they are shut down. No regulations for these fabricators.

Half the time it’s the workers themselves refusing to use the appropriate safety measures. Have seen so often.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t be daft of course it’s the inhaled silicates. That means safety practices. Btw people have been dying of silicosis since the dawn of mining and quarrying. It’s not new.

What's new is the higher silicate content of engineered stone, that gives a higher "done" of harmful substance with each breath, killing people more quickly.

This has been an eye opener for me. I will never buy engineered stone again. No one needs engineered stone. It should be banned.

It is just too dangerous for workers. The article states, “ L.A. County is exploring whether to go further and ban the sale and installation of “silica engineered stone” entirely.” I think this will happen and then the state of CA will ban engineered stone. Once that happens other states will too.

The government is going to have to step up. You can’t rely on the market or the industry to regulate itself, but this is happening in America. It’s well within our power to fix the problem if people in government cared about these workers.

Don’t be daft of course it’s the inhaled silicates. That means safety practices. Btw people have been dying of silicosis since the dawn of mining and quarrying. It’s not new.

Anonymous wrote:It is not the countertops themselves, it is the lack of safety practices in the industry. Preventative measures to avoid silicosis are well-known.

It is the countertops themselves. It used to catch up with men who were 60 or 70. Now it's happening to 20-YEAR-OLDS. Stop with your excuses.

This is not new. It was all over the news pre-pandemic. What I don't understand is why nothing's been done. OSHA? Hello?

Aren’t there masks for this?

It is not the counter tops themselves, it is the lack of safety practices in the industry. Preventative measures to avoid silicosis are well-known.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-09-24/silicosis-countertop-workers-engineered-stone

Waves of young men dying of lung cancer while building engineered stone countertops.