Silicosis Cases Among Stonecutters Surge More Than Tenfold: Study
- A New England Journal of Medicine study found silicosis cases among California stonecutters who work with engineered stone countertops jumped from 47 cases between 2019-2022 to 571 cases from 2023 through August of this year, with Latino men accounting for roughly 98% of cases and about half concentrated in Los Angeles County, particularly the San Fernando Valley.
- Co-author David Michaels, a George Washington University professor and former OSHA assistant secretary, said engineered stone “cannot be manufactured safely and economically,” noting workers are falling ill younger and experiencing faster disease progression than silicosis seen in construction or mining. The state has identified 32 worker deaths since 2019, with a median diagnosis age of 46 and median death age of 52.
- California’s Senate Bill 20, passed in 2025, expanded the state health department’s silicosis surveillance and made it a mandatory reportable condition while requiring employers to provide respirators and use water suppression during cutting.
- Cal/OSHA data shows 94% of the roughly 140 shops it has inspected — only about 10% of the state’s estimated 1,342 fabrication operations — were cited for violations, with 20% receiving emergency shutdown orders.
- The Western Occupational & Environmental Medical Association petitioned California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to ban the fabrication of engineered stone products entirely, citing Australia’s nationwide prohibition as a model; the board voted in late May to approve the petition and begin drafting emergency regulations, which still require stakeholder review and board approval before taking effect.
OSHA Extends Warehousing Safety Enforcement Program Through 2031
- OSHA renewed its National Emphasis Program on warehousing and distribution center safety on July 31, extending coverage from its original 2023 start date through at least 2031. The move continues to authorize comprehensive OSHA inspections across seven NAICS classifications including postal processing centers, courier services, and various warehousing and storage operations, while dropping certain high-injury retail establishments like home centers and supermarkets that had been included in the original program.
- Employers should verify whether their individual facility locations, not just their corporate-wide NAICS code, fall within the covered classifications, since OSHA’s compliance safety and health officers will confirm each establishment’s classification, employee count and warehousing activities during opening conferences.
- Inspections remain comprehensive, covering powered industrial vehicles, material handling and storage, walking-working surfaces, fire protection, heat and ergonomic hazards, with officers directed to review OSHA 300 Logs, 300A Summaries, and 301 Incident Reports for the current and prior three years.
- While the renewed NEP removes mandatory heat and ergonomic screening requirements that existed in the 2023 version, those hazards remain explicitly covered by the program, and employers should not scale back existing controls.
- The update encourages — but doesn’t require — state plan states to adopt the updated directive.
Carpenter Killed in Fall from Deck
- A 52-year-old carpenter died Aug. 10, after falling approximately 10 feet from a deck at a residential construction site in Harbor Springs, Michigan, according to the Michigan Occupational Safety & Health Administration, which said the deck railing was unbolted when the worker fell.
- MIOSHA noted this initial account came from the employer’s report and does not reflect the outcome of its official investigation, which remains ongoing and could take several weeks or months to complete.
- A MIOSHA spokesman said the agency cannot share further details while the investigation is open.
- The death is the 27th workplace fatality reported to MIOSHA in 2026, following 46 such deaths in 2025; the lowest annual total on record was 24 deaths in 2009.