Incurable disease caused by kitchen design ID’d in Massachusetts

Luxe quartz countertops have surged in popularity in recent years, with an 800% rise in imports to the US alone, thanks to their durability, heat resistance and smooth, natural look.

But that beauty may come at a price to the workers who install them.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a safety alert on Tuesday regarding silicosis, a progressive and incurable lung disease.

The state confirmed the first case of silicosis in a Massachusetts employee of the stone countertop fabrication industry.

Historically associated with mining and construction, the disease has become more prevalent among stone fabricators working with engineered stone, which contains significantly more silica than natural materials like granite or marble.

About 2.3 million US workers are exposed to silica in the workplace, according to the American Lung Association.

Silicosis is caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust, which is generated by cutting, polishing or grinding stones, especially high-silica engineered quartz.

Symptoms can include an irritating cough, mucus, shortness of breath, trouble breathing, fatigue, chest pain and leg swelling.

While there are treatments to manage symptoms, there’s no cure for silicosis. The disease can worsen as it progresses, potentially leading to lung cancer, tuberculosis and even death.

The Massachusetts resident had worked for stone countertop fabrication and installation companies for 14 years, the state said. He’s a Hispanic man in his 40s.

The first US case of silicosis linked to engineered stone was reported in Texas in 2015.

In a 2023 study, California researchers identified 52 California quartz countertop workers with silicosis.

Twenty of them had advanced silicosis, and 10 died before the study concluded.

While the disease is potentially deadly, there hasn’t been an outright ban on quartz in the kitchen.

Rather, public health officials and researchers are asking for stricter regulations and safety precautions.

“The confirmation of this case in Massachusetts is a tragic reminder that silicosis is not just a distant threat — it is here, and it is seriously impacting the health of workers in Massachusetts,” Emily H. Sparer-Fine, director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Occupational Health Surveillance Program, said in a statement.

“Beyond the critical role employers play, everyone involved in the supply chain can help reduce the danger by opting for materials that contain less silica and pose fewer health hazards,” she added.

Precautions such as proper ventilation and a medical surveillance program for workers have been floated as possible solutions.

“Our paper raises the alarm,” said Dr. Sheiphali Gandhi, a UC San Francisco pulmonologist and co-author of the California study. “If we don’t stop it now, we’re going to have hundreds, if not thousands, of more cases. Even if we stopped it now, we’re going to be seeing these cases for the next decade because [silicosis] takes years to develop.”

In 2016, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued two respirable crystalline silica standards to protect workers.

These standards require employee exposures to be below the permissible limit of 50 micrograms of respirable crystalline silica per cubic meter of air over an eight-hour workday.

In 2019 and 2020, however, California safety officials found that about 72% of the 808 fabrication shops operating in the state were “likely out of compliance with the existing silica standard,” putting hundreds of workers at risk of silicosis, according to NPR.

Since then, the California Division of OSHA adopted emergency rules for respirable crystalline silica in 2023, which were made permanent in late 2024.