Engineered Stone

The Silicosis Comeback: Engineered-Stone Workers and the Respirator Program That Should Have Stopped It

Silicosis was supposed to be a disease of the past. Instead it came back — fast and fatal — among young men cutting engineered-stone countertops. California alone has confirmed 219 cases, at least 14 deaths, and 26 lung transplants. This is the data, the dust, and the OSHA respirator program that is the last line of defense when the controls upstream fail.