NEWS
Keep current with the news here:
April 12, 2024- The Hill-Incurable and unconscionable: How immigrants are contracting deadly lung disease making kitchen countertops. Brayton Purcell is referenced in an article published by The Hill, which highlights the alarming issue of silicosis among Latino immigrant workers in California. These workers, many of whom are involved in manufacturing quartz kitchen countertops, are contracting this deadly lung disease due to exposure to silica dust. The fabrication of quartz, a material containing over 90 percent silica, releases fine dust particles that, when inhaled, lead to the disease.
April 3, 2024 - KTLA 5 - Officials introduce legislation to address incurable lung disease epidemic in Los Angeles
February 21, 2024 – San Fernando Valley Sun – A Silicosis Epidemic in the Northeast San Fernando Valley
February 7, 2024 – The Progressive Magazine – Welcome to the Cancer Factory
February 6, 2024 – CBS Morning News – The production of crushed quartz countertops may be causing deadly lung issues in workers
February 2, 2024 – Sidney Morning Harold – Scope of benchtop ban under review to guard against loopholes
December 27, 2023 – Univisión – Silicosis: la enfermedad causada por cortar la piedra que se usa para cocinas y baños
December 14, 2023 – Public Health Watch – California Issues Emergency Rule to Address Silicosis Epidemic
December 14, 2023 – LA List – California Issues Emergency Rule To Address Silicosis Epidemic
December 14, 2023 – KQED – California Regulators Approve Emergency Rules to Protect Stonecutters From Deadly Disease
December 14, 2023 – Los Angeles Times – California embraces emergency rules to protect countertop workers from incurable silicosis
December 13, 2023 – Safe Work Australia – Engineered stone prohibition to make workplaces safer and healthier for all Australians
December 11, 2023 – KQED – California Regulators to Vote on Emergency Rules for Stonecutters’ Safety
December 4, 2022 – Univision – La enfermedad silenciosa que está amenazando la salud y las vidas de muchos trabajadores inmigrantes
November 24, 2023 – Sidney Morning Herald – The stone benchtop ad that found its way into a major US lawsuit
November 19, 2023 – Los Angeles Times – California countertop workers died of a preventable disease. The threat was known years earlier and in Spanish: Trabajadores de mostrador de California murieron de silicosis a pesar de años de advertencias
November 15, 2023 – The Guardian – Ikea joins Bunnings in banning engineered stone products linked to silicosis
November 14, 2023 – Sidney Morning Herald – Bunnings to stop selling engineered stone
November 10, 2023 – Safe Work Australia’s damning report on engineered stone could lead to a total ban
November 1, 2023 – ABC News – Video: Debate continues about the use of deadly engineered stone
October 31, 2023 – Daily Mail – IKEA becomes the latest store to face pressure to pull kitchen benchtops causing fatal disease from its stores
October 30, 2023 – SafeWork SA – Prohibition on the use of engineered stone
October 30, 2023 – The National Tribune – CFMEU urges all governments not to shirk responsibility on engineered stone
October 29, 2023 – ABC Net News – Damning silicosis report calls for world-first ban on deadly engineered stone — will governments listen?
October 28, 2023 – City Hub Sidney – “The asbestos of the 2020s”: Unions push for engineered stone ban
October 25, 2023 – The Sydney Morning Herald – Engineered stone review puts total ban on the table
October 25, 2023 – The New Daily – Unions announce July 2024 deadline for engineered stone benchtops to halt killer disease
October 24, 2023 – 7 News Australia – Workers call to ban engineered stone over deadly silicosis
October 18, 2023 – Union: Caesarstone’s Killer Stone Protection Campaign Evil
October 17, 2023 – Caesarstone launches advertising blitz over potential benchtop ban
October 8, 2023 – Commentary: No one should have to die for our fancy countertops
September 30, 2023 – The Los Angeles Times – Letters to the Editor: How deadly are your beautiful new stone countertops?
September 29, 2023 – The Los Angeles Times – Engineered stone counter tops are killing workers at high rates. What can consumers do about it?
September 29, 2023 – The Sydney Morning Herald – This deadly disease should be relegated to the dustbin of history. Instead, it’s surging
September 25, 2023 – OSHA National Reliance News – Department of Labor announces enforcement, compliance initiative to protect workers from silica exposure in engineered stone fabrication, installation
September 25, 2023 – Bloomberg Law – Safety Regulator Aims to Protect Workers From ‘Engineered Stone’ – Featuring Brayton Purcell LLP client Leobardo Segura Meza
September 25, 2023 – SK Pop – What is Silicosis? California workers who cut countertops afflicted by incurable lung disease – Featuring Brayton Purcell LLP client Leobardo Segura Meza
September 24, 2023 – Mirror – Silicosis killing young workers who cut countertops as incurable disease destroys lungs – Featuring Brayton Purcell LLP client Leobardo Segura Meza
September 24, 2023 – Los Angeles Times – California workers who cut countertops are dying of an incurable disease – Featuring Brayton Purcell LLP client Leobardo Segura Meza
September 15, 2023 – 7 News Australia – Aussie Tradies Call For Nationwide Ban on Manufactured Stone Benchtops to Prevent Silicosis
September 14, 2023 – KCBS – As Prescribed: The Deadly Truth About Synthetic Countertops
September 14, 2023 – Hospitality Design – With Quartz Linked to Silicosis, Manufacturers Seek Alternatives
September 11, 2023 – Sydney Morning Herald – Federal Government Under Pressure to Release Safe Work’s Benchtop Ban Report
August 15, 2023 – Financial Review – CFMEU to Push Labor Conference on Engineered Stone Ban – “Any suggestion engineered stone can be used safely is a lie designed to perpetuate an industry which preys on the lives of Australian workers. We’ve seen people contract silicosis and other diseases even with PPE because the tiny killer particles penetrate masks.”
July 25, 2023 – NBC News – Quartz Countertops Linked to Deadly Lung Disease in Workers Who Fabricate the Material
July 24, 2023 – New York Post – Fancy Quartz Countertops are Killing People Who Make Them, Doctors Say
July 24, 2023 – NPR – Young Men Making Quartz Countertops Are Facing Lung Damage – One State is Taking Action
July 22, 2023 – KQED – California Fast-Tracks Rules to Protect Stonecutters From ‘Horrible’ Deaths – featuring Brayton Purcell LLP client Leobardo Segura-Meza following his July 20, 2023 testimony before the Cal-OSHA Standards Board.
July 21, 2023 – KQED – New Workplace Rules to Be Put in Place to Better Regulate Silica Dust
June 22, 2023 – Monash University – World’s Most Comprehensive Study of Stone Benchtop Workers Reveals An Alarming High Prevalence of Silicosis
February 19, 2023 – 60 Minutes Australia – Video – What Your Dream Renovation is Really Doing to Workers’ Health
December 21, 2019 – NPR – A New Safety Program Takes On Silica Dust Amid a Possible Crisis
December 2, 2019 – ‘There’s No Good Dust’: What Happens After Quartz Countertops Leave the Factory
November 21, 2019 – NPR – ‘It’s Going to Get Worse’: How U.S. Countertop Workers Started Getting Sick
October 29, 2019 – CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – Outbreak of Silicosis Among Engineered Stone Countertop Workers in Four States
October 7, 2019 – NPR – Lawmakers Seek Protections for Workers Against Lung Damage Tied to Making Countertops
October 2, 2019 – NPR – Workers Are Falling Ill, Even Dying, After Making Kitchen Countertops
September 2019 – CDPH (California Department of Public Heath) – Occupational Health Alert – Silicosis Outbreak in Engineered Stone Fabrication Workers – 18 Cases in 4 States
March 2019 – CDPH (California Department of Public Heath) – Health Advisory on Stone Fabrication Hazards – Severe Lung Disease From Inhaling Silica Dust
Additionally, NPR (National Public Radio) maintains a Special Series – Silicosis in U.S. Countertop Workers that includes an updated list of news stories on this topic.
Hearings and Presentations
Keep current with the regulatory hearings and medical presentations here:
December 14, 2023 – Emergency Temporary Standard Approved– Engineered Stone Silica
December 14, 2023 – the CAL-OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board will meet to vote on a Proposed Emergency Regulation regarding Occupational Exposures to Respirable Crystalline Silica
December 13, 2023 – Australian Government – Department of Employment and Workplace Relations – Work Health and Safety and Workplace Relations Ministers’ Meeting – effective July 1, 2024, the Australian government has banned the use, supply, importation, and manufacture of all engineered stone.
October 10, 2023 – University of Minnesota Public Health Institute – The Growing Silicosis Outbreak Among Engineered Stone Fabricators – Jenny Houlroyd, CIH, MSPH – Georgia Tech SHES
October 27, 2023 – Safe Work Australia – Decision Regulation Impact Statement: Prohibition on the use of engineered stone – After reviewing all of the available evidence and concluding that is it not realistically possible to use safely, Safe Work Australia recommended a complete ban on all engineered stone.
July 20, 2023 – after hearing testimony from Dr. Jane Fazio from UCLA, Dr. Robert Harrison from UCSF, and Dr. Manijeh Berenji, and Brayton Purcell LLP’s client Leobardo Segura-Meza, the Cal-OSHA Standards Board unanimously passed an emergency standard to address the epidemic of engineered stone workers suffering and dying from acute silicosis. The video of the full hearing is available at: https://videobookcase.org/oshsb/2023-07-20/ The audio recording of the hearing in Spanish is available at: https://videobookcase.org/oshsb/2023-07-20/spanish/. Click here to view the full emergency petition. The Evaluation of the emergency petition by OSHA is available at Evaluation of Petition No. 597 to Amend Title 8 Section 5204 to Prevent Silicosis in the Engineered Stone Countertop Industry.
February 8, 2023 – WHWB (Workplace Health Without Borders) – Engineered Stone Countertops: How Big is the Problem? – Part A and February 21, 2023 Part B
February 2023 – Safe Work Australia – Decision Regulation Impact Statement Managing the risks of respirable crystalline silica at work
December 11, 2019 – COEH (Center for Occupational and Environmental Health) & California Labor Lab – California Department of Public Health – UCSF – Dr. Robert Harrison – Severe Silicosis in Engineered Stone Fabrication Workers – US and Global Perspectives
October 18, 2019 – Georgia’s State OSHA Consultation Program – Engineered Stone: Fabrication and Silicosis
Medical Journal Articles
The most important medical journal articles are listed here:
January 22, 2024 – Safety and Health at Work – Dr. Seneviratne, et al. – Respirable silica dust exposure of migrant workers informing regulatory intervention in engineered stone fabrication
January 11, 2024 – The Lancet Respiratory Medicine – Australia bans engineered stone to prevent silicosis
December 3, 2023 – Respirology – Dr. Ramkissoon, et. al. – Understanding the pathogenesis of engineered stone-associated silicosis: The effect of particle chemistry on the lung cell response
November 17, 2023 – CDC – MMWR – Notes from the Field: Surveillance of Silicosis Using Electronic Case Reporting — California, December 2022–July 2023
September 22, 2023, Dr. Ch. Chen, et al – – Subpleural curvilinear lines as an early indicator of silicosis in artificial stone workers
July 24, 2023, Dr. Jane Fazio from UCLA and Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi from UCSF – JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) – Silicosis Among Immigrant Engineered Stone (Quartz) Countertop Fabrication Workers in California
July 24, 2023, Dr. Jeremy Hua and Dr. Cecile Rose from National Jewish Health and Dr. Carrie Redlich from Yale School of Medicine – JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)- Engineered Stone-Associated Silicosis – A Lethal Variant of an Ancient Disease
June 16, 2023 – Dr. Ryan Hoy, et. al – BMJ Journals – Occupational & Environmental Medicine – Prevalence and Risk Factors For Silicosis Among a Large Cohort of Stone Benchtop Industry Workers
March 14, 2022 – Dr. Ramkissoon, et. al – Scientific Reports –Characterization of Dust Emissions From Machined Engineered Stones to Understand the Hazard for Accelerated Silicosis
March 2023 – Dr. Ramkissoon, et. al – Annals of Work Exposures and Health – Engineered Stone Fabrication Work Releases Volatile Organic Compounds Classified as Lung Irritants
December 2020 – Dr. Silpa Krefft, et. al – Elsevier – Clinics in Chest Medicine – Silicosis: An Update and Guide for Clinicians
October 28, 2020 – Dr. Ryan Hoy, et. al – BMJ Journals – Occupational & Environmental Medicine – Identification of Early-Stage Silicosis Through Health Screening of Stone Benchtop Industry Workers in Victoria, Australia
June 2020 – Dr. Carrieri, et. al – International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health – Characterization of Silica Exposure During Manufacturing of Artificial Stone Countertops
June 18, 2020 – Dr. Leon-Jimenez, et al – Chest – Artificial Stone Silicosis: Rapid Progression Following Exposure Cessation
May 2020 – Dr. Wu, et. al – Respirology – Artificial Stone‐Associated Silicosis in China: A Prospective Comparison with Natural Stone‐Associated Silicosis
September 27, 2019 – CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report– Severe Silicosis in Engineered Stone Fabrication Workers – California, Colorado, Texas, and Washington, 2017-2019
February 2019 – Dr. Veruscka Leso, et. al – International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health – Artificial Stone Associated Silicosis: A Systemic Review
March 2017 – Dr. Dror Rosengarten, et. al – American Journal of Industrial Medicine – Survival Following Lung Transplantation For Artificial Stone Silicosis Relative to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
June 2016 – Dr. Christina Pavan, et. al – Toxicological Sciences – Abrasion of Artificial Stones As A New Cause of An Ancient Disease – Physico-chemical Features and Cellular Responses
February 2015 – Dr. Gary Freidman, Dr. Robert Harrison, et. al – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report – Silicosis in a Countertop Fabricator – Texas, 2014
August 2012 – Dr. Mordechai Kramer, et. al – Chest – Artificial Stone Silicosis: Disease Resurgence Among Artificial Stone Workers
July 2012 – Dr. Dusca Bartoli, et. al – Italian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene – Silicosis in Employees in the Processing of Kitchen, Bar, and Shop Countertops Made From Quartz Resin Composite
January 2011 – Dr. Silvia Pascual, et. al. in Arch Bronconeumol – Prevalence of Silicosis in a Marble Factory After Exposure to Quartz Conglomerates
February 2010 – Dr. Cristina Martinez, et. al – International Journal of Spanish Respiratory Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery – Silicosis, Una Enfermedad con Presente Activo
Ask for An Analysis of Your Potential Lawsuit
If you or a family member have worked as a fabricator, cutter, polisher, or installer of engineered stone (Quartz) (artificial) (manufactured) stone countertops, and have been diagnosed with any type of silicosis or lung cancer, or think that you potentially could have silicosis, contact Brayton Purcell LLP online or call them at (855)335-8606 for a free consultation. Even if you are an undocumented immigrant, you may be entitled to financial compensation. You have rights. It is time for you to seek justice.
For an overview of engineered stone, why it is dangerous, and how it causes silicosis and other diseases, click here
To learn about Safety and Medical resources, and how to reduce or eliminate exposure to silica, click here
To learn about how silicosis from engineered stone is diagnosed and to find treating doctors who specialize in engineered stone silicosis, click here
To learn about what the manufacturers and distributors of engineered stone knew about the hazards of their products, click here
To learn about the types of monetary damages available to silicosis victims, statute of limitations (deadlines to file a lawsuit), or the major defendant manufacturers of engineered stone, click here
