Pacific Shore Stones, LLC Disregarded Worker Safety

Pacific Shore Stones, LLC, a prominent player in the stone distribution industry since its inception in California in January 2005, has positioned itself as a paragon of quality and service in the realm of stone distribution across the United States. With its claims of offering “the highest quality” hand-selected stones and fostering international quarry joint ventures, the company presents an image of global excellence and commitment to its clientele, ranging from fabricators to designers.

However, beneath this polished veneer of corporate responsibility and product excellence lies a troubling disregard for worker safety, particularly evident in the company’s 2015 Safety Data Sheet for “Pacshore Quartz.” This product, marketed for surface applications like countertops and vanities, contains 93% natural quartz stone and 7% resin binder and colorant, aligning it with typical artificial stone products known for their high crystalline silica content.

The Safety Data Sheet’s glaring inadequacies begin with its Hazards Identification section, which starkly omits any mention of silicosis or lung damage, thereby violating the Hazard Communication Standard. The provided hazard statements are disturbingly vague and insufficient, failing to accurately inform workers of the dire health risks posed by prolonged inhalation of crystalline silica dust, including silicosis, lung cancer, and chronic kidney disease, among other conditions.
Instructions such as “Do not breathe dust” and advisories on “suitable respiratory equipment” in the case of “insufficient ventilation” are not only impractical but dangerously misleading. These statements ignore the inevitable dust production during stone fabrication and offer no concrete guidance on preventing silica dust inhalation, essentially leaving workers to navigate their safety measures in a hazardous environment.

The Safety Data Sheet’s section on Exposure Controls/Personal Protection is equally troubling, with vague directives on ventilation and respiratory protection that do not specify the necessary exposure limits or the type of respirators required to effectively prevent silicosis. This ambiguity is compounded by the misleading suggestion that respiratory protection might not always be necessary, despite the well-documented high risks of respirable crystalline silica exposure in stone fabrication.

Moreover, the relegation of silicosis to a mere mention in the Toxicological Information section, away from immediate visibility and without adequate emphasis on its progressive, irreversible, and ultimately fatal nature, reflects a gross underestimation of the disease’s severity and the company’s apparent indifference to worker health.

The concluding disclaimer in the Safety Data Sheet, which shifts the onus of safe product use onto the user, is a blatant abdication of Pacific Shore Stones’ responsibility to ensure the safety of its products and the well-being of workers. This stance not only contravenes the Hazard Communication Standard’s requirements for manufacturers but also exposes a deeply ingrained corporate ethos that prioritizes profit over people.

In light of these findings, Pacific Shore Stones must be held accountable for its failure to protect workers from the known hazards of artificial stone fabrication. The company’s deficient safety data, misleading instructions, and shirking of responsibility call for immediate corrective action to safeguard the health and lives of countless workers who rely on accurate information and effective protection measures to navigate the risks of their trade.