Silica-Related Lung Injuries Prompt Enforcement, Mitigation Efforts

September 13, 2024

Regulators have stepped up efforts to mitigate occupational exposure to silica dust and the costly treatment of lung diseases often associated with stone-cutting fabrication work. In August, eight years after the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a silica standard providing safeguards for workers, the agency fined a Chicago countertop manufacturer more than $1 million after learning that an employee required a double lung transplant after suffering “accelerated silicosis.”The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries last month fined a marble and granite company nearly $320,000 for silica dust violations.

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