Dashboard Collects Data on Engineered Stone Silicosis in California
A new dashboard available from the Occupational Health Branch of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) contains surveillance data for cases of engineered stone silicosis reported to the state since 2019, the year surveillance began. The dashboard collects data from statewide hospital utilization records, voluntary reporting by healthcare providers and community members, public health follow-up of mandated medical testing that occurs after workplace investigations, and doctors’ reports of occupational injury or illness. Data also comes from the Reportable Conditions Knowledge Management System, which enables automated electronic case reporting to public health agencies via electronic health records, and soon CDPH expects additional data to come from the California Reportable Disease Information Exchange. According to CDPH, data will be updated weekly and may also be downloaded. Instructions for using the dashboard are available as a PDF.
As of Feb. 27, more than 250 cases of the occupational lung disease have been confirmed in the state and 15 workers have died, but this is “likely an underestimate of the true burden of [engineered stone silicosis] in California,” an information sheet (PDF) about the new dashboard states. According to CDPH, gaps in the data may be due to underdiagnosis of silicosis cases, lack of information regarding exposures associated with engineered stone, or cases not being captured by the dashboard’s current data sources. CDPH notes that silicosis has been identified among young engineered stone countertop workers in the state, and the dashboard lists 46 as the median age for both silicosis diagnosis and age at death from the disease. A fact sheet (PDF) previously published by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) explains that workers who cut artificial stone are at greatest risk for developing silicosis because the material may contain 93 percent or more crystalline silica.
In December 2024, the standards-setting agency within Cal/OSHA voted to permanently adopt the state’s emergency temporary standard for silica. The standard is particularly intended to protect people who work with artificial, human-made stone from silicosis, according to California’s Department of Industrial Relations.
View the California Engineered Stone Silicosis Dashboard via the CDPH website.
