California Takes Step Toward Prohibiting Artificial Stone Fabrication and Installation

A unanimous vote of the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has initiated a process for the state to prohibit the fabrication and installation of artificial stone products containing more than 1 percent crystalline silica. The board’s action is a response to the increasing number of silicosis cases among fabricators and installers of artificial stone countertops, which may contain more than 90 percent silica, according to an alert (PDF) from OSHA and NIOSH. The board also directed California OSHA to convene a scientific advisory committee to evaluate potential protections for workers.

Responding to a petition from the Western Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association, the standards board, together with Cal/OSHA, “concluded that artificial stone products containing crystalline silica present unique occupational hazards and that existing protections are insufficient to fully address the risk,” according to a press release from the state’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).

Since 2019, more than 560 confirmed cases of silicosis have been identified among workers in California’s artificial stone fabrication and installation industry, according to the Occupational Health Branch of the California Department of Public Health. A dashboard maintained by the department and last updated May 21 indicates that 87 cases have been confirmed in the state this year.

The DIR press release says that Cal/OSHA has issued more than 900 citations under an agency enforcement initiative for silica.

For more information, refer to the DIR press release.