California countertop workers died of a preventable disease. The threat was known years earlier

When Wendy Solano first heard the word “silicosis,” her husband Jose Raul Garcia Leon was already suffering from the incurable disease that would kill him. “This is an epidemic of silicosis — a completely preventable lung disease — in this industry all for the sake of having a fashionable kitchen countertop,” Hoy said. Cal/OSHA officials have generally described silicosis as preventable, but also caution that with 93% silica content, “safe use of engineered stone may not be possible” even with proper workplace practices. In Australia, workplace safety officials recently recommended a total ban on engineered stone, calling it “the only way to ensure that another generation of Australian workers do not contract silicosis from such work.” :: More than a decade ago, U.S. physicians began seeing reports from abroad about the risks of cutting engineered stone and realized that silicosis could soon afflict workers here. It’s long been known that “if you inhale high levels of silica dust, you’re going to get silicosis,” said Dr. Paul Blanc, an occupational lung disease specialist at UCSF.