California Moves to Ban Quartz Countertop Fabrication to Combat Silicosis Epidemic

Members of California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board hear worker testimony on a petition to ban the use of engineered stone at a May 21 meeting in Los Angeles. All photos by Semantha Raquel Norris.

California regulators have taken the first step toward banning the fabrication of engineered quartz countertops in an attempt to curb a growing silicosis epidemic that has killed more than 30 stone fabricators and sickened hundreds more.

The state Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board’s vote last week to adopt a petition to ban engineered stone containing more than 1% crystalline silica marked a victory for workers who cut, grind and polish quartz and are at risk of contracting the incurable lung disease.