What is silicosis? The incurable disease sickening young California workers who cut countertops

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. People get the disease after inhaling tiny pieces of silica, a mineral, while working with engineered stone, or quartz, per the American Lung Association. By the time they were diagnosed with silicosis, nearly 40 per cent of the people studied already had advanced disease with “severely or very severely reduced” respiratory effort. “ have a right to know that the countertop that might be the cheapest one may really be costing folks’ lives.” A technique called “wet cutting” may help people who work with engineered stone reduce their chances of developing silicosis, per the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Leobardo Segura Meza, a 27-year-old worker who is already suffering from the disease, told The Los Angeles Times that he worries workers will continue to die due to the popularity of engineered stone.