CDC Sees Heightened Silicosis Threat with Quartz-Surface Fabrication
By Emerson Schwartzkopf
ATLANTA – The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is citing increases in silicosis cases with engineered-stone fabrication in the United States.
A report issued Friday by the nation’s health institute identified 18 cases of the lung disease among workers in four states since July 2017. Two of the affected workers died.
“Severe Silicosis in Engineered Stone Fabrication Workers – California, Colorado, Texas, and Washington,” signed by 22 medical professionals, is the lead article in the CDC’s latest issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
“Engineered stone contains a much higher-silica content than does natural stone, posing significant risk to those who handle and work with the material,” said Cecile Rose, MD, MPH, professor of medicine at National Jewish Health in Denver and co-author of the study. “We believe there may be hundreds, if not thousands of cases of silicosis among workers in the engineered stone industry.”
The report noted previous CDC data showed only one previous case of silicosis (in 2014) with an engineered-stone fabrication worker.
The new report noted the 18 workers were at fabrication facilities and worked “mainly” with engineered stone.
Exposure to silica ranged from two years to 31 years among the 18 workers in the new report. Eleven of the affected workers were under age 50; both dead workers were under 40.
The largest number of cases are in Colorado, with seven workers – five men and two women — diagnosed since June 2017 by Dr. Rose, a specialist in occupational lung disease. Five had direct fabrication duties and two were involved in housekeeping; between them, the group had worked at 12 different shops.
Six male California fabricators at one facility developed silicosis, with two dying last year. A dozen men at one shop in Texas early this spring showed some signs of silicosis, with four confirmed cases.
Doctors diagnosed one Washington worker with progressive massive fibrosis, the most-advanced type of silicosis, and was referred for lung-transplant evaluation.
The report identified all but two of the workers as Hispanic, with two noted as non-Hispanic black.
Many employees in this industry are Hispanic immigrants,” the report noted, “who might be especially vulnerable to workplace health hazards because they might have fewer employment options and diminished access to medical care and face threat of retaliation if they report workplace hazards or file workers’ compensation claims.
“As a result, these workers might not seek medical attention until symptoms are severe and disease is advanced.”
The report also acknowledged that silica contact can be prevented effectively with wet fabrication and other methods, but “exposure control and medical surveillance for silicosis in the stone fabrication industry remain challenging.
“Many stone fabrication shops are small-scale operations that might face safety challenges, including limited awareness, expertise, and investment in exposure-control technologies, that can result in inadequate worker protection.”
“Without systematic screening and surveillance of all at-risk workers, prevalence of silicosis and its associated conditions in stone fabrication workers in the United States remains unknown,” the report added. “State health departments and CDC can work together to standardize and improve public health surveillance for silicosis across jurisdictions.”
“We urgently need to identify stone fabrication workers at risk and reduce their exposure to silica dust,” said Dr. Amy Heinzerling, co-author of the MMWR report and Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/California Department of Public Health. “Employers, public health authorities and health-care providers must all work together to address this emerging silicosis threat in the stone-fabrication industry.”
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