Silicosis is back, custom countertops are implicated, and negligence is at the center of a new spate of worker injuries.
Worker with high speed rotary tool, dry-cutting stone and emitting a plume of dust | Volodymyr Burdiak / Shutterstock
The recent succession of new Silicosis cases in the US, has blown the lid off the progress that we thought had been made against this entirely preventable disease. While health officials and occupational regulators are beginning to get a sense of the size of the problem, permanently injured workers, some terminal, are in need of care, compensation, and justice.
Countertop Silicosis is a new manifestation of an old worker’s disease, affecting countertop stone-cutters and finishers. It appears to be the disastrous side effect of the rapid market growth of a new construction material, and gross negligence in the workplace.
X-ray radiograph showing the diseased lungs of an individual with Simple Silicosis | Wikipedia.org / Gumersindorego (CC BY-SA 3.0)
What we know about Silicosis
Silicosis in general has a long sordid history and well-documented pathology. It’s the most common and oldest occupational lung disease in the world, and one of the primary reasons that The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was founded almost 50 years ago. OSHA is the federal agency tasked with setting standards for safety to protect workers from workplace hazards. One of their original resolutions in 1971 was to enact silica dust exposure limits. These limits were further tightened in 2016 to reflect decades of cumulative data on the disease.
Silicosis is caused by inhaling silica dust and almost exclusively affects workers in industrial processes that pulverize or use pulverized stone such as mining, ceramic fabrication, stone-cutting, and construction. The disease is progressive, and there’s no cure. Over time, a victim successively loses the vital function of their lungs. They face declining health and physical ability, major organ damage, cancer, and often death.
This simply shouldn’t be happening today.
With everything we know about the cause and prevention of Silicosis, many are asking the question: Why has an old workplace hazard returned now and why countertop workers?
Trendy kitchen featuring Quartz countertop | Ted Sardena / Pixabay
A new product on the market
Part of the answer is in the material itself. The latest must-have surface in the kitchen and bath marketplace is a material known as engineered stone, and often branded simply as ‘Quartz’. It’s become ubiquitous in recent years, in home installations, even overtaking granite in popularity. However, the silica content within engineered stone products can be as much as twice that of granite. These composites are manufactured with bits of natural stone held together with resins, and may contain upward of 93% crystalline silica. For a worker cutting natural and composite stone interchangeably, the dust may look the same, but the concentration of dangerous respirable micro-particles can be several times the level that the safety equipment was designed to handle.
In addition, stone countertop installations have seen rapid growth since they became widely available in the late 1990s. Simply stated, the more product that’s sold, the more workers come in contact with potentially hazardous dust. Furthermore, business has become fiercely competitive with slim profit margins. In order to make money, shops must balance production costs with pricing pressure, and it seems all too often they’re cutting the wrong corners.
Worker dry-cutting stone, enveloped in airborne dust, and marginally equipped with dust mask fitted over facial hair | Norbachov / Shutterstock
Workshop negligence
Health officials believe that in many situations safety procedures are not kept up, and old equipment and policies are not adequate for the new engineered stone products, due to their higher concentrations of crystalline silica. This doesn’t give employers a pass however, because under OSHA rules, routine air quality testing is required, and any new material entering such a shop should trigger a review and safety updates.
On the more scandalous side, investigators have cited shops with flagrant violations, where employees lack minimum information about the risk of Silicosis, personal safety training, and/or protective equipment altogether.
These situations are patent examples of negligence. Ultimately it’s the duty of employers to ensure employees are not injured in the workplace.
Exposure is widespread
OSHA, estimates that over 2 million workers in the US are adversely exposed to silica dust each year. Despite this, the job of identifying the source of hazardous exposure can be difficult because of the typical extended timeframe of the disease’s symptoms. Chronic Silicosis can take 10 to 30 years of low level exposure to develop the physical symptoms that lead to a doctor visit. Sadly, this sets up a sense of complacency --and a long span for deniability-- for apathetic employers, while affected workers can appear healthy and move on to other jobs.
In contrast and alarmingly, the recent cases of Countertop Silicosis in the US have developed rapidly. High profile examples have reported acute symptoms in a matter of a few years, as opposed to decades, which indicates a devastating level of exposure and a probable expanding crisis for affiliated workers. The implication is that any shop environment that has caused an Accelerated Silicosis case, has probably also exposed the overall worker population to a range of serious levels of respirable silica. So what we are seeing today is just the tip of the iceberg.
What you should do if you believe you've been exposed, or have already been diagnosed with Silicosis.
If you think you've been exposed systematically to airborne silica dust in your workplace, you should take immediate steps to avoid additional exposure and see a doctor right away, even if you don't have symptoms. As noted above, often the adverse health indications don’t appear for years after initial exposure, and without a medical diagnosis, it's impossible to seek justice.
If you've received a medical diagnosis and you believe your employer acted with negligence, it’s likely you have a case for compensation, and it’s a good time to talk with an experienced Personal Injury Lawyer. Take care of your health first, and above all, be clear with your doctor. Affected workers and families may wish to notify the suspected company of the diagnosis, to help reduce the exposure of others, but beyond that, they should not discuss intent, remedies, or medical costs before seeking the advice of legal counsel.
An experienced lawyer is essential when seeking compensation from a company. They know how the system works, and are familiar with tactics that might be used to discredit your case or promote an unfair settlement. There are many resources for locating a reputable Personal Injury law firm. In most situations, the fees are paid through the eventual settlement and there are no upfront costs for injury victims.
Xxxx & Xxxx is one of Virginia's most experienced Personal Injury law firms. They specialize in cases where individuals have been unjustly injured by the negligence of others. They are dedicated to leveling the field for workers and families who have suffered lost wages, medical bills, disability, or wrongful death, and who need help with complicated legal processes, lawsuits, and insurance claims. If you work in Virginia and you think you have a workplace injury case, please call (xxx) xxx-xxxx for a free consultation, or connect here on the web.