Workers Are Falling Ill, Even Dying, After Making Kitchen Countertops

A worker cuts black granite to make a countertop. Though granite, marble and "engineered stone" all can produce harmful silica dust when cut, ground or polished, the artificial stone typically contains much more silica, says a CDC researcher tracking cases of silicosis.

Irreversible lung disease has started to show up among young workers who cut, grind and polish countertops made of increasingly popular “engineered” stone. The material is more than 90 percent silica.

(Image credit: danishkhan/Getty Images)

Read the full post on Health Care : NPR

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