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Public Health at Risk: How Artificial Stone Slab Makers Are Linked to a Growing Lung Disease Crisis

A serious public health crisis is emerging across the United States—not because we lack scientific understanding, but because of what appears to be a calculated failure by artificial stone slab manufacturers. These companies are now at the center of a growing wave of silicosis, a devastating lung disease that is entirely preventable.

A Gleaming Surface, A Hidden Threat

Artificial stone, also known as engineered stone, is now a fixture in modern kitchen design. Valued for its sleek look and durability, it conceals a dangerous truth: these slabs are composed of at least 90% crystalline silica, a substance that can cause deadly lung scarring when inhaled. The remaining ~10% includes volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—some of which are known carcinogens.

When cut, ground, or polished, artificial stone emits microscopic silica dust particles that, when inhaled over time, lead to silicosis, a chronic, irreversible condition. As occupational health experts David Michaels and Gregory Wagner explained in their May 2025 article for The Atlantic, “A person who has severe silicosis has to fight for every breath. A short walk that should take just 20 minutes can take an hour.”

Silicosis continues to worsen even after the exposure has stopped.

Southern California: A Growing Hotspot

In the greater Los Angeles area, more than 300 workers have been diagnosed with silicosis, according to Michaels and Wagner. These workers—all of whom were employed in cutting and finishing artificial stone—were overwhelmingly Latino immigrants. Several of them have already undergone lung transplants, a last-resort treatment that reflects the severity of the illness.

And the actual numbers may be far higher. Many countertop fabrication shops are small, informal operations—difficult for regulators to find, monitor, or inspect. “OSHA is so under-resourced and underpowered,” the authors write, “that it has had difficulty merely finding the shops where the work is being done.”

Longstanding Warnings, Industry Silence

The dangers of silica dust have been known for nearly a century. In 1930, hundreds of workers died while tunneling through pure silica rock in West Virginia. By 1974, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) had already issued formal guidance calling for stricter exposure limits. Nonetheless, it took nearly 20 more years—until 2016—for OSHA to enact updated regulations.

Despite this knowledge, manufacturers of engineered stone slabs have reportedly taken no significant action to warn the public or make their product safer. And as the product’s popularity grew, so too did the risk for those tasked with shaping and installing it.

Michaels and Wagner caution that “Silicosis was already making a comeback… this time in a different industry: the fabrication and installation of artificial-stone kitchen countertops.”

Protections Eroded as Danger Spreads

While controlling silica dust exposure requires expensive engineering systems, many fabrication shops lack the financial means to implement them. And now, the federal programs designed to protect those workers are being dismantled.

On April 1, 2025, the entire team responsible for NIOSH’s Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) was reportedly fired. The same day, many scientists and engineers working on miner safety were also let go. This action followed a March 2025 restructuring plan from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that outlined a 66% cut in NIOSH’s staffing levels.

Although public pressure led to the reinstatement of CWHSP in mid-May, and a portion of staff was brought back, a significant part of NIOSH remains furloughed, and its long-term operational capacity is uncertain.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s DOGE department has proceeded with closing 11 OSHA and 34 MSHA offices—severely curtailing the government’s ability to enforce health and safety laws. As Michaels and Wagner warn, “Workers will certainly be getting silicosis because of inadequate public-health protections.”

The Responsibility Lies with Manufacturers

Through all of this, artificial stone manufacturers have remained notably silent. Despite evidence linking their product directly to a resurgence of a deadly disease, they have continued to market and sell it without publicly acknowledging the risks or funding safer alternatives.

This is not simply a failure of how the slabs are handled—it is a fundamental issue with the composition of the slabs themselves. Silicosis is not caused by improper use; it is caused by what the product is made of.

A Preventable Epidemic

The silicosis epidemic linked to engineered stone is not an accident—it is the foreseeable result of inaction by those who created and profited from a dangerous material. And unless that inaction is met with accountability, the number of workers affected will only rise.

History is repeating itself, and we already know how it ends—unless something changes.

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