A surge in cases and a cascade
In the Joined Conditions, Ikea quit marketing syntheticed rock kitchen counters in 2025 ( in France and also various other International nations, since July 2026, Ikea was actually still marketing custom-made cooking area kitchen counters "produced coming from smashed quarta movement" ). Residence Depot, Lowe's, and also Costco, nonetheless, were actually still marketing items consisting of crystalline silica since June 2026.
A surge in cases and a cascade
A rise in the event that and also a cascade of tests
In 2016, when some of our company, David Michaels, was actually working as Associate Secretary of Labor at the Work-related Safety and security and also Wellness Management (OSHA), the governing limit for work-related direct visibility towards air-borne silica dirt was actually decreased.
Nonetheless, abiding by the OSHA federal government criterion isn't enough towards secure laborers coming from the harsh hazardous results of syntheticed rock.
In 2019, after the Focuses for Condition Management and also Deterrence (CDC) mentioned 18 instances of silicosis connected to do function in syntheticed rock in California, Colorado, Texas, and also Washington Condition, California epidemiologists started towards paper the condition with laborers in those workshops.
Ever since, the lot of yearly instances has actually been actually gradually boosting. It is actually right now unobstructed that so long as syntheticed rock consisting of crystalline silica is actually made use of towards make cooking area worktops, thousands of younger laborers will definitely be actually in jeopardy of being actually detected along with silicosis annually.
In the Joined Conditions, instances of silicosis have actually been actually mentioned in numerous various other conditions, featuring Massachusetts, Illinois, Brand-brand new York, Fla, Utah, Washington, Brand-brand new Mexico, and also Colorado. Nonetheless, considering that very most laborers in these manufacturing facilities are actually certainly not screened for silicosis, it is actually affordable towards think that hundreds of various other undiagnosed laborers additionally experience the condition.
Today, around the Joined Conditions, thousands of laborers that have actually dropped unwell are actually filing a claim against the makers and also representatives of these lethal kitchen counters