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Quartz countertops linked to deadly lung disease in workers who fabricate the material

Quartz countertops have skyrocketed in popularity over the last decade, but new research suggests the material poses a deadly health risk to the workers who make it.Get more news about Quartz Stone Factory,you can vist our website!

A study published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine identified 52 cases of an irreversible, potentially life-threatening lung disease among workers in California who fabricate quartz slabs. Ten of those workers died, and three received lung transplants.

Although quartz is a naturally occurring mineral, the version found in homes is an artificial mixture of silica — a chemical compound — and other materials including resins and dyes. Breathing in large amounts of silica dust can cause inflammation or scarring, also called fibrosis, in the lungs.
This can lead to silicosis, a disease that results in permanent lung damage and sometimes death due to respiratory failure. Patients may start off with a cough or shortness of breath, then eventually require oxygen therapy or a lung transplant.

"It’s an incurable disease. There’s no treatment for it. You can’t get the silica out of anybody’s lungs," said Arthur Frank, a professor of environmental and occupational health at Drexel University, who was not involved in the new research. "Once it’s there, it’s going to stay there — and the fibrosis can continue to occur, even if you don’t get any more exposure."

The new study estimated that 100,000 workers in the U.S. are potentially at risk of silicosis due to exposure to silica dust.

Dr. Jane Fazio, a co-author of the study and a pulmonary specialist at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, said sales of engineered quartz stone countertops have risen more than 600% in the U.S. in the last 10 years.

“It’s really marketed as more durable material and more versatile and less maintenance than the natural stone alternatives,” she said.

Whereas silica typically makes up less than 30% of natural stones like marble or granite, quartz contains around 90% or more, according to Jenny Houlroyd, an industrial hygienist at Georgia Tech, who was not involved in the new research.

To make quartz slabs, manufacturers first crush the quartz and compress it under high heat, then send it to shops where workers cut, sand and polish the material. Those workers can be exposed to nano-sized particles of silica dust, which get trapped in their lungs.

Houlroyd works with countertop companies in Georgia to assess their exposure levels by collecting air samples.

“With the introduction of engineered stone, or quartz countertops, we saw exposure levels increase astronomically,” she said, adding: “It’s not just the amount of silica dust that’s getting into their lungs, but it’s also the size of it that is causing harm as well.”