silica

A New Safety Program Takes On Silica Dust Amid A Possible Crisis

5:00am December 21, 2019

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

It will now be easier for the government to inspect shops where workers might get exposed to lung-damaging silica dust. But it's unclear how much it will affect countertop workers.

The Cambria factory in Minnesota manufactures slabs of engineered quartz for kitchen and bathroom countertops. If businesses don't follow worker protection rules, cutting these slabs to fit customers' kitchens can release lung-damaging silica dust.

'There's No Good Dust': What Happens After Quartz Countertops Leave The Factory

3:13pm December 02, 2019

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Slabs of engineered quartz are cut to order in thousands of shops around the country that may not adequately protect workers from dangerous levels of the lung-damaging contaminant.

A colored X-ray of the lungs of a patient with silicosis, a type of pneumoconiosis. The yellow grainy masses in the lungs are areas of scarred tissue and inflammation.

Health & Safety

Lawmakers Seek Protections For Workers Against Lung Damage Tied To Making Countertops

5:19pm October 07, 2019

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

In a letter, they urge the Labor Department to ensure safe levels of silica dust at workplaces that cut popular "engineered stone." At least 18 workers have recently suffered severe lung damage.

A worker stands on top of a storage bin on July 27, 2011, at a drilling operation in Claysville, Pa. The dust is from powder mixed with water for hydraulic fracturing.

Sand From Fracking Could Pose Lung Disease Risk To Workers

1:50pm April 01, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The sand is pumped underground along with water and other chemicals to extract oil and natural gas trapped deep in rock. But researchers found that air samples taken at some drilling sites contained high enough levels of very fine silica particles to be dangerous to workers.

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A worker makes a cut in the side of a sandstone block at the Cleveland Quarries facility in Vermilion, Ohio, earlier this month. The legal limit on the amount of silica that workers can inhale was set decades ago.

Silica Rule Changes Delayed While Workers Face Health Risks

3:07pm February 07, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Regulations to restrict the amount of silica dust that workers can inhale were set decades ago, and workplace safety experts say that limit needs to be cut in half. A proposal for new rules was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for a 90-day review, but almost two years later, it's still under review.

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