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Latino men who cut artificial stone countertops in California are falling ill from an incurable and deadly lung disease at an alarming rate, a new study finds.<\/p>\n
These workers are developing silicosis, a condition in which microscopic silica dust contained in the stone slabs they grind and polish is cutting up the inside of their lungs until the organs fail. Life expectancy can be extended through a lung transplant, but even then the fatal disease will continue to progress.<\/p>\n
The number of silicosis cases reported in California has increased more than tenfold in less than four years \u2014 from 2019 through 2022 there were 47 cases; from 2023 through August of this year, there have been 571, according to data from the state Department of Public Health.<\/p>\n
Workers are also falling ill younger and experiencing a more severe and rapid progression of the disease, according to an analysis of the state\u2019s data published in the New England Journal of Medicine.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s become clear that this product engineered stone countertops … cannot be manufactured safely and economically,\u201d said David Michaels, professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University and co-author of the study. \u201cThis is a product that we do not need that is damaging the lungs of hundreds of workers [in California] and probably thousands of workers across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The booming popularity of countertops made of engineered stone has driven a new epidemic of silicosis, an incurable lung disease, researchers have found.<\/p>\n
Latino men account for about 98% of cases, and about half of the cases have been reported in L.A. County, according to the California Department of Public Health. The San Fernando Valley is the epicenter of California\u2019s artificial-stone-cutting industry, where dozens of shops are clustered.<\/p>\n
The state health agency identified 32 workers who had died of the disease since 2019. The median age of workers who were diagnosed with silicosis is 46, and the median age at death is 52.<\/p>\n
\u201cSilicosis among these workers is progressing much more rapidly than silicosis we\u2019ve seen in other occupations,\u201d which includes the construction and mining industries, said Michaels, who is also the former assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.<\/p>\n
The affected workers identified in the study reported 16 to 25 years of silica dust exposure while on the job. The state has tracked data for 72 workers who have undergone lung transplants and 51 workers who have been referred for lung transplant evaluations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s leading to earlier deaths and severe disability,\u201d Michaels said. \u201cThe percentage of workers who have either received lung transplants or who are awaiting lung transplants is astoundingly high.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grinding and sanding of synthetic engineered stone exposes workers to high levels of lung-scarring silica. Experts say the health risk should have been clear long before workers began falling ill.<\/p>\n
He said when OSHA first issued an industry standard of occupational exposure to silica in 2016, the fabrication of artificial stone countertops was still very new.<\/p>\n