California Worker Agencies to Regulate ‘Engineered Stone’ (1)

To prevent workers from developing an often fatal lung disease, California workplace safety agencies will start development of an emergency standard to protect laborers who cut “engineered stone,” a common material for countertops.

The decision Thursday by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board came in response to calls for action from doctors, worker advocates, and laborers stricken with the illness silicosis.

During a public hearing in Sacremento on the emergency standard proposal, Dr. Robert Harrison of the state Department of Public Health told the board that since 2019, the department has confirmed 77 silicosis cases and 10 ...