STATE OF CALIFORNIA
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board 2520 Venture Oaks Way , Suite 350 Sacramento , CA 95833 Tel : ( 916 ) 274-5721
GAVIN NEWSOM , Governor
FINDING OF EMERGENCY GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 11346.1 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS BOARD PROPOSED EMERGENCY REGULATION TITLE 8 , CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS GENERAL INDUSTRY SAFETY ORDERS CHAPTER 4 , SUBCHAPTER 7 , REVISED SECTION 5204
Occupational Exposures to Respirable Crystalline Silica KEY POINTS
• The Board is proposing an Emergency Temporary Standard ( ETS ) to protect workers in the stone fabrication industry from exposure to respirable crystalline silica ( RCS ).
• When inhaled , RCS can result in silicosis , an incurable , progressive lung disease that causes pulmonary fibrosis , respiratory failure , and in many cases , death .
• RCS exposure from working with artificial stone produces an aggressive form of silicosis , with rapid disease progression , accelerated decline in lung function , and high mortality , typically at a young age .
• There is a growing number of silicosis cases in the artificial stone fabrication industry that began in 2019 and has since been described by the California Department of Health ( CDPH ) Occupational Health Branch ( OHB ) as an epidemic .
• In July 2023 , OHB investigators reported a total of 52 workers with silicosis who were exposed to RCS while fabricating countertops from artificial stone .
• The median age of these workers was 45 years at diagnosis ; 51 ( 98 %) were Latino men . Ten of these patients ( 19 %) died by the time investigators reported their findings . The median age at death was 46 years , with a median work tenure of 15 years . Three individuals underwent lung transplantation , which has a five-year survival rate of 59 %.
• In November 2023 , OHB reported that the total number of silicosis cases in the artificial stone industry had increased 79 %, from the 52 workers reported in July of 2023 , to a total of 93 . One worker with severe silicosis is 27 years of age , is on continual oxygen , and worked for a period of 10 years in the industry .