California moves to ban common kitchen item after incurable disease rates skyrocket

California is looking to ban the creation or installation of man-made quartz amid cases of a fatal lung disease that increasingly affects workers who carve the material to make kitchen countertops.California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is expected to pass the emergency regulation for man-made quartz in October, indicating a growing concern over the preferred alternative to granite and marble.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

Please provide a valid email.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story The ban would be for manufactured stone that contains more than 1 percent of crystalline silica.The state is expected to review the regulation before it becomes law.Crystalline silica, which is highly concentrated in man-made quartz, is spread into the air as dust when quartz is cut.This can, in turn, affect the lungs, which react with an aggressive immune response.Scar tissue forms, leading to the killing of the lung.Once patients begin suffering from silicosis, they often need a single or double lung transplant.The number of Californians suffering from the disease has surged in recent years, jumping from 31 cases in 2019 to a staggering 631 as of mid-August, one study found.Nearly all of the victims have been men, with about half of them in Los Angeles County, the report said.

Their median age is 52.One of those victims is Enrique Gonzalez, a San Fernando Valley stone worker who has been unable to work for the past two years after developing silicosis from years of working in granite and stone manufacturing.Gonzalez’s family previously told the California Post his disease left the family struggling to cover medical expenses and everyday costs.His daughter, Edith Gonzalez, 30, said that her father’s health started improving only after the lung transplant he received this summer.“He has recovered really well fro...