A study of California workers identified nearly 600 cases of the incurable lung condition silicosis, prompting experts to call for national surveillance and stronger safety standards.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- High Silica Exposure: Engineered stone countertops typically consist of more than 90% crystalline silica, which puts workers who cut and polish the material at extreme risk for developing incurable lung disease.
- California Case Data: Researchers identified 592 cases of silicosis among California countertop fabrication workers between 2019 and 2026, resulting in 31 deaths and 65 lung transplants.
- Clinical Screening Recommendations: The study authors urge healthcare providers to screen patients for occupational dust exposure and report all diagnosed cases to public health authorities to improve disease tracking.
A new report documenting a rapidly growing silicosis epidemic among quartz countertop workers in California underscores the urgent need for national surveillance, earlier diagnosis, and policy interventions to protect workers from the preventable lung disease, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine Evidence.
Researchers from the California Department of Public Health, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, San Francisco identified 592 cases of silicosis among quartz countertop fabrication workers between January 2019 and June 2026. Among those workers, 65 underwent lung transplants and 31 died.
Silicosis is an incurable lung disease caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica dust. Engineered stone, commonly marketed as quartz countertops, typically contains more than 90% crystalline silica. This concentration places workers who cut, grind, and polish the material at particularly high risk. While safer alternatives are available, quartz remains the most popular countertop material in the US.
“Hundreds of workers have been sickened making quartz countertops, a product we do not need, especially when a safer alternative is available,” said David Michaels, professor in the department of environmental and occupational healthcare at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, in a news release. “Given the hundreds of diagnosed cases of silicosis in California, there are likely thousands of more cases across the country. Healthcare practitioners and public health departments should be on the lookout for cases and join the effort to stop this epidemic and save workers lives.”
The report highlights that the number of cases is rising quickly, and many workers are being diagnosed at advanced stages of the disease. While tracking efforts in California have prompted regulatory action, including stronger workplace silica standards, the authors caution that the true burden of disease is likely higher because many workers remain undiagnosed or are diagnosed late.
The authors also pointed to a nationwide ban in Australia on engineered stone containing crystalline silica as a model for preventing future cases. The report urges healthcare providers to routinely ask patients about occupational exposures, evaluate countertop fabrication workers for silicosis, and report diagnosed cases to public health authorities.
Michaels, a former assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), co-authored the study with experts calling for stronger monitoring to prevent the deadly occupational disease. Michaels and Robert Harrison, a senior attending physician in occupational healthcare at the University of California, San Francisco, also recently highlighted how most big-box stores continue to sell these countertops despite the public health impact.
