The Silica Safety Coalition is dedicated to promoting safe, wet processing technology in stone-cutting facilities while prioritizing compliance with OSHA air monitoring standards and other silica rules. Safety is our unwavering commitment.
Responsible stone professionals prioritize worker safety by prohibiting all dry-cutting practices, including grinding and polishing, which pose serious risks to stone fabricators. The use of water during stone fabrication is a highly effective and proven control methodology.
Fabrication employers who provide effective employee training, conduct air monitoring to assess employee exposure, implement engineering controls, and robust housekeeping, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and medical surveillance in compliance with OSHA and other regulations prevent Silicosis and keep employees safe and healthy.
The Silica Safety Coalition and its members are disappointed with the recent verdict in Los Angeles imposing liability on stone slab suppliers for unacceptable occupational workplace safety conditions that occurred in third party, unregulated workplaces. Mr. Reyes-Gonzalez’s silicosis is the result of his employers’ unsafe workplace practices that violated the law which the jury acknowledged by finding 70% fault on his employers. We disagree that any percentage of liability should be imposed on the slab suppliers because there is no substantiated evidence that engineered stone presents an unacceptable safety risk to workers when the established state and federal OSHA requirements are adhered to. We think the California jury was wrong to blame the slab suppliers for any of Mr. Reyes-Gonzalez’s injuries from his unsafe workplace condition, and we anticipate the verdict will be appealed by one or more parties.
It is the critical responsibility of stone fabrication businesses to protect their workers from the well-known hazard of respirable crystalline silica in the workplace and prevent silicosis. We will continue to advocate for compliance with and enforcement of important state and federal OSHA safety regulations and requirements during the fabrication of all stone products. These requirements include monitoring the air to determine worker exposures to silica, controlling dust exposure by using engineering controls and safe work practices and providing respiratory protection when it is needed to protect workers.
There are several well-established and effective safety measures to prevent silicosis. One critical engineering control to ensure stone worker safety is using wet processing and cutting with abundant water during all fabrication steps. Our members stand in strong opposition to any use of dry-cutting, dry-grinding, and dry-polishing. These unsafe practices are unacceptable and present significant risk to stone fabrication workers. Fabricator safety information, including about how to mitigate the risks of respirable crystalline silica and prevent silicosis, is provided to all purchasers of engineered stone products and must be followed by fabricators and we refer to OSHA (https://www.osha.gov/silica-crystalline).