Engineered Stone is Contributing to Record Numbers of Silicosis Cases

Engineered stone is a form of composite material consisting of crushed quartz that is used for the purpose of countertop creation.  The crushed stones are held together by polymer resin and is largely made up of a chemical compound called silica.  Engineered stone emulates the look and feel of natural stone and it is usually selected because it is more affordable and requires less maintenance than natural stone.  The beauty of engineered stone comes at a price—that is—for the contractor responsible for its installation.

More Environmentally Friendly or A Hazard to Human Health?

Some individuals also opt for engineered stone because they believe it to be more environmentally friendly than natural stone but this couldn’t be further from the truth.  Workers who manufacture and install the artificial stone are developing serious and incurable lung disease.  The installation of engineered stone requires cutting, grounding, shaping and polishing.  During this process, storms of fine dust are created  within the environment and the worker is immersed in the silica based dust for hours on end.  The fine dust particles then settles and falls everywhere within the construction space.

Young Latino men in their 20s-40s who work in construction, mining and stonework are developing silicosis or pulmonary fibrosis; a lung disease that progresses as a result of breathing in silica particles.  Anna Werner of CBS Mornings recently conducted an investigation which saw her interview a few workers who became ill after having been involved in construction jobs such as stonework.  One worker, Gustavo Reyes-Gonzalez spoke with a tone of regret when discussing the lung transplant that he had to receive.  

“There’s very little possibility that my life lasts long.  The transplant is for a few years. Nothing more” said Reyes-Gonzalez.  

Another worker named Dennis Williams is waiting for a lung transplant due to the onset of silicosis in his body. As he let out multiples fits of coughs during the interview, he expressed the gravity of his situation. 

“You live with the pain. It’s an inexplicable pain.  I have pain everyday” said Williams.

All of the workers interviewed expressed that they originally were never made aware of the harmful effects of engineered stone and the fine silica dust that is created during the installation process.  

Banned in Australia. Is the USA next?

Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia determined that there are other materials in engineered stone that are also harmful to humans.  These include cobalt, aluminum and the resin that holds the crushed quartz stone together.  The development of silicosis or cancer after mere months of exposure happens at an alarmingly rapid rate.   

A decision was made by the Australian government in December 2023 to ban the use, supply and manufacturing of engineered stone.  The law will go into effect in July of 2024.

Pulmonary health professionals are constantly seeing individuals become sick with silicosis.  Many of these workers are in need of lung transplants or on the verge of death. Due to increasing numbers of cases of individuals developing silicosis, the state of California has introduced emergency measures to help protect workers who handle engineered stone.  The measure includes restricting the dry-cutting of artificial or engineered stone that possesses more than 0.1% of crystalline silica.  While California should be applauded for being the only state to make a move towards restriction of artificial stone, there currently is no toxicological evidence for a safe threshold for crystalline silica so the move may prove to be useless in the long run.  Other research has determined that even when safety measures such as wet-cutting are in place, the levels of silica in the artificial stone are still very high and still leads to silicosis. A more critical decision by governing safety bodies must be made.

Continued allowance of the manufacture, use and supply of engineered stone in the USA will lead to a public health emergency.  Silicosis developed from exposure to engineered stone is affecting workers at increasingly rapid rates.  It is now an epidemic within the United States.  Regulating bodies such as OSHA will have no choice but to formally ban engineered stone in the USA.

CBS Mornings. (2024). The production of crushed quartz countertops may be causing deadly lung issues in workers. Youtube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/_3eD-gcvxn8?si=Oz7kvrVX_r5kNwpQ. 

Ramkissoon C, Song Y, Yen S, Southam K, Page S, Pisaniello D, et al. Understanding the pathogenesis of engineered stone-associated silicosis: The effect of particle chemistry on the lung cell response. Respirology. 2023.