California Issues Health Advisory for Silicosis in Countertop Workers
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued an advisory Nov. 17 that directs healthcare providers in the state to conduct testing for silicosis in countertop workers and to report actual or suspected cases to their local health department. The workers at greatest risk are those who cut artificial stone, which can have crystalline silica content as high as 93 percent, according to a Cal/OSHA fact sheet (PDF). Silicosis became a reportable disease in California this past June.
CDPH collects surveillance data for cases of engineered stone silicosis on its website. The data show 447 confirmed silicosis cases among countertop workers since 2019. At least 25 of those cases resulted in death and 49 required lung transplants. While silicosis typically affects older workers, the countertop worker cohort in California has median ages of 46 at diagnosis and 48 at death.
The relative youth of California countertop workers who have silicosis is consistent with data from other locations. A 2022 study identified 169 workers with silicosis in Israel, Spain, Australia, and the U.S. whose median age was 51.7 years, while an analysis of 482 silicosis compensation claims filed during 2015–2022 in the Australian state of Victoria, where the government provides health screening to stone workers, revealed a median age of 39. Australia has since banned engineered stone.
California requires employers to provide engineering controls, training, and exposure monitoring for workers engaged in high-exposure tasks such as cutting, grinding, polishing, and cleanup of artificial and natural stone. A law that will go into effect in January requires CDPH to report silicosis cases related to engineered stone to Cal/OSHA.
The CDPH advisory and resources on silicosis are available on the department’s website. For more information, visit the NIOSH webpage on silica and worker health.
Related: In the October 2024 issue of The Synergist, members of the NIOSH Engineering and Physical Hazards Branch addressed questions related to protecting workers in the stone countertop industry.