California is moving to prohibit the creation or installation of engineered quartz after a surge in cases of a deadly lung disease among workers who cut the material for kitchen countertops.
The state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is expected to approve an emergency regulation targeting engineered quartz in October. The proposal reflects growing concern about the health risks associated with the popular alternative to granite and marble.
The proposed ban would cover manufactured stone containing more than 1 percent crystalline silica.
California is expected to review the regulation before it can take effect as law.
Crystalline silica is present at particularly high levels in engineered quartz. When the material is cut, the silica can become airborne as fine dust.
Once inhaled, the dust can trigger an aggressive immune response in the lungs. Scar tissue develops, progressively damaging and destroying lung function.
People who develop silicosis often eventually require a single- or double-lung transplant.
The number of Californians diagnosed with the disease has risen sharply in recent years, increasing from 31 cases in 2019 to 631 by mid-August, according to one study.
The report found that nearly all of those affected were men, with roughly half living in Los Angeles County. Their median age was 52.
Enrique Gonzalez, a stone worker from the San Fernando Valley, is among those affected. He has been unable to work for two years after developing silicosis through years of employment in granite and stone manufacturing.
Gonzalez’s family previously told the California Post that his illness had left them struggling to pay medical bills and meet everyday expenses.
His 30-year-old daughter, Edith Gonzalez, said his condition began to improve only after he received a lung transplant this summer.
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“He has recovered really well from the lung transplant. His body took it really well. He is showing signs of improvement, like right away,” Gonzalez said. “Before he got his lung transplant, he got really, really bad. Like his condition was very bad, where he got intubated because he couldn’t breathe, even just a little bit.”
Fortunately, Gonzalez said, her father had already been placed on the transplant list when his health reached a critical stage. The family had initially been cautioned that donor lungs might take years to become available.
“So thankfully, when his condition got really bad, he had that lung transplant,” she said.
Before the operation, even brief walks had become a major challenge. Gonzalez said her father relied on a cane and often needed a wheelchair to travel from the car to medical appointments or the emergency room. He also regularly became breathless despite using supplemental oxygen.
Since the transplant, however, his daily life has changed dramatically.
“Right after he got his lung transplant, obviously yes he had some help with walking and support, but now he doesn’t need a cane. He doesn’t need a wheelchair,” Gonzalez said. “He’s able to do his morning and evening walks. He’s like a new person.”
His daughter described him as a quiet, family-focused man who spent most of his life working and served as the family’s main breadwinner.
“He’s always just been at home, gone to work, and back home,” she said.
The transplant marks a major turnaround for Gonzalez, but his recovery is far from over. His daughter said he remains under significant restrictions and spends much of his time attending medical appointments, undergoing physical therapy and following up with doctors.
“He can’t really be outside. He can’t go to a lot of places,” she said. “So right now it’s all been about his recovery of just staying home and going to the doctors.”
With Gonzalez unable to work for the past two years, the family has relied in part on donations through GoFundMe to help cover expenses.
“It has helped a lot because obviously he was not able to work and it did take a toll on us because he has always been the family provider,” Gonzalez said. “I feel very grateful that he had a second chance at life.”