Massachusetts Well being Alert: Lethal Illness Linked to Kitchen Design Characteristic

Luxe quartz counter tops have surged in reputation lately, with an 800% rise in imports to the US alone, due to their sturdiness, warmth resistance and easy, pure look.

However that magnificence might come at a value to the employees who set up them.

The Massachusetts Division of Public Well being issued a security alert on Tuesday relating to silicosis, a progressive and incurable lung illness.

The state confirmed the primary case of silicosis in a Massachusetts worker of the stone countertop fabrication business.

Traditionally related to mining and development, the illness has grow to be extra prevalent amongst stone fabricators working with engineered stone, which incorporates considerably extra silica than pure supplies like granite or marble.

About 2.3 million US staff are uncovered to silica within the office, in keeping with the American Lung Affiliation.

Silicosis is attributable to inhaling crystalline silica mud, which is generated by reducing, sharpening or grinding stones, particularly high-silica engineered quartz.

Signs can embody an irritating cough, mucus, shortness of breath, hassle respiratory, fatigue, chest ache and leg swelling.

Whereas there are remedies to handle signs, there’s no remedy for silicosis. The illness can worsen because it progresses, probably resulting in lung most cancers, tuberculosis and even demise.

The Massachusetts resident had labored for stone countertop fabrication and set up firms for 14 years, the state stated. He’s a Hispanic man in his 40s.

The primary US case of silicosis linked to engineered stone was reported in Texas in 2015.

In a 2023 examine, California researchers recognized 52 California quartz countertop staff with silicosis.

Twenty of them had superior silicosis, and 10 died earlier than the examine concluded.

Whereas the illness is probably lethal, there hasn’t been an outright ban on quartz within the kitchen.

Quite, public well being officers and researchers are asking for stricter rules and security precautions.

“The affirmation of this case in Massachusetts is a tragic reminder that silicosis isn’t just a distant menace — it’s right here, and it’s critically impacting the well being of staff in Massachusetts,” Emily H. Sparer-Fantastic, director of the Massachusetts Division of Public Well being’s Occupational Well being Surveillance Program, stated in a press release.

“Past the important position employers play, everybody concerned within the provide chain will help cut back the hazard by choosing supplies that comprise much less silica and pose fewer well being hazards,” she added.

Precautions similar to correct air flow and a medical surveillance program for staff have been floated as doable options.

“Our paper raises the alarm,” stated Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, a UC San Francisco pulmonologist and co-author of the California examine. “If we don’t cease it now, we’re going to have lots of, if not 1000’s, of extra circumstances. Even when we stopped it now, we’re going to be seeing these circumstances for the following decade as a result of [silicosis] takes years to develop.”

In 2016, the federal Occupational Security and Well being Administration issued two respirable crystalline silica requirements to guard staff.

These requirements require worker exposures to be beneath the permissible restrict of fifty micrograms of respirable crystalline silica per cubic meter of air over an eight-hour workday.

In 2019 and 2020, nonetheless, California security officers discovered that about 72% of the 808 fabrication retailers working within the state have been “seemingly out of compliance with the prevailing silica normal,” placing lots of of staff liable to silicosis, in keeping with NPR.

Since then, the California Division of OSHA adopted emergency guidelines for respirable crystalline silica in 2023, which have been made everlasting in late 2024.