Quartz countertops have become a must-have addition to modern kitchens and bathrooms in wealthy households.
But the blue collar workers tasked with making them are coming down with a deadly condition dubbed ‘black lung’.
Known medically as silicosis, the disease occurs when tiny shards of stone, small enough to permeate face masks, are breathed in and make micro cuts in the lungs.
Over time, this tears cause irreversible damage to the organs, making the condition effectively a death sentence unless the person undergoes lung transplants, which only buy them a handful of years.
Now, dozens of victims are suing stonemakers for failing to protect them in a growing wave of lawsuits that could upend the world of home renovation.
One such worker is Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez of California, 34, who had double lung transplant after moving to the US from Mexico and fitting wealthy family kitchens and bathrooms across Orange County.
He won at least $8 million or possibly more, depending on what a judge decides within the next month, against businesses that make and distribute engineered stone after jury agreed that they were at least partially responsible for the illness that has left him in pain and near death.
His lawyer James Nevin told DailyMail.com that he currently represents around 300 workers in California who have sustained painful lung injuries as a result of doing their jobs.
Many of the victims are in their 30s and 40s and will die within about ten years.
Researchers warn that when quartz countertops are cut they release silica dust, which can damage people’s lungs (stock)
Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez worked in stone fabrication shops for years where he was constantly breathing in invisible silica dust. It permeated his lungs and caused a build up of scar tissue there, permanently damaging his lungs. He has since had two transplants
Mr Nevin told DailyMail.com: ‘We’re finding a 92 percent prevalence rate – most fabrication workers will get silicosis… this is just the tip of the iceberg.’
Mr Gonzalez is one of scores of plaintiffs in cases alleging that stone makers and distributors covered up the risks of working with their products, but his was the first to go to trial.
His lawyers believe his case is a bellwether for more to come, with Mr Nevin adding that ‘it’s the first of many hundreds if not thousands.’
Mr Gonzalez immigrated to the US from Mexico as a teenager to escape poverty, and began working morning to evening, six days a week, cutting slabs of quartz stone to be used in kitchens and bathrooms.
The durable stone is a popular choice for Americans looking to update their countertops, as it is heat and stain resistant, and more durable than granite.
To the customer, it’s a harmless, aesthetically pleasing addition to the home. But to the worker who saws off pieces and sizes it, the stone is deadly.
Even though quartz is a naturally occurring mineral, the type found in American homes is a mixture of silica – a chemical compound – and other materials such as metals, resins, and dyes.
When workers like Mr Gonzalez breathe in the dust while sawing pieces of it, the particulate matter travels to the lungs and cause inflammation and scarring.
This typically wreaks permanent damage to the lungs and causes shortness of breath, severe coughing, and eventually, oxygen therapy and at least one lung transplant.
Mr Gonzalez noticed his symptoms worsen in 2020, having worked in the industry for over a decade. It would take about a year to learn the true nature of his diagnosis.
He told Business of Home: ‘[The pulmonologist] told me I had silicosis. I asked him what that was, and he told me, ‘You’re sick because of your work, because you’ve been breathing in silica.’
‘I asked him, ‘What are we going to do? Is there any treatment?’ and he said, ‘There’s nothing we can do for you, because there is no cure for this disease.’
Mr Gonzalez left his doctor’s appointment in crisis, certain that he was going to die.
He added: ‘I decided to keep working because I needed to save some money for what was coming. Actually, what I was doing was saving money for my funeral.’
Mr Gonzalez testified that he would often work in a fog of dust that made his mask filthy. The manufacturers never warned him or his coworkers that working with the artificial stone could cause irreversible health damages
Mr Gonzalez survived only because he was able to receive two lung transplants in February 2023.
But hundreds of thousands of Americans are not so lucky. They are languishing on long wait lists for transplants, and 17 people on those wait lists die each day.
Mr Gonzalez will need another one in seven to 10 years, according to one of his lawyers, Raphael Metzger, and likely will not live past 50.
Mr Metzger said: ‘Hopefully, he’ll have another 16 years of life, but it won’t be a high-quality life. He’s not well. He’ll never be whole.’
Mr Gonzalez has worked in a string of stone masonry shops, stressing that the problem facing workers is common and widespread.
He testified that at times, the cloud of dust in the air at these shops would hang over the workers like a thick fog.
His mask became ‘very filthy’ and, even when he would cut the stone with water to minimize the dust exposure, the stone would later dry and ‘a lot of dust would come off.’
Caesarstone, which manufactured the quartz, said the onus was on the shops, not the stone manufacturer, to ensure worker safety, saying in court that injuries could have been prevented if those ‘who owned and operated the fabrication shop where he worked had done what Caesarstone asked them to do.’
Much of the multi-week case centered on determining the protective measures necessary to shield workers from silica dust generated by engineered stone, the Los Angeles Times reported.
A series of expert witnesses testified on the hazards of cutting such stone slabs. Dr. Kenneth Rosenman highlighted that Reyes Gonzalez developed silicosis even though he used water-dispensing tools, which Rosenman explained were ‘not sufficiently protective.’
Industrial hygienist Stephen Petty, another expert for the plaintiff, characterized N95 masks as ‘bottom of the barrel’ protection against engineered stone dust. He added that even high-grade respirators with clean air tanks aren’t a ‘permanent solution,’ as workers tend to adjust the fit, disrupting the protective seal.
Mr Gonzalez’s case and that of dozens of other workers is likely to have a profound impact on the home renovation industry as demand for materials with lower silica content will likely increase.
Safety protocols for stone manufacturers will likely become more stringent as well, calling for more expensive dust control and ventilation systems and more personal protective equipment. Many shops like the ones Mr Gonzalez worked in for over a decade may experience some financial loss trying to meet new standards.
Silicosis appears on a CT scan as Scan as small white nodules scattered throughout the lungs. Scan courtesy of radiopaedia.org
A ban on engineered stone is not on the immediate horizon but the wave of lawsuits could spur further regulatory action, including tighter exposure limits handed down by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and enhanced air quality monitoring at shops and factories.
Mr Gonzalez struggle is far from over. He now faces a lifetime of daily medication, which increases his cancer risk due to the immunosuppressants he needs to prevent organ rejection.
His medications have rendered him sterile, and he and his wife will never be able to fulfill their dream of having a child.
His severe coughing fits also damaged his stomach and diaphragm, requiring an additional surgeries. Altogether, his life expectancy has been extended to only 10 years.
Gonzalez holds stone manufacturers responsible for concealing the dangers of their products: ‘They make the material. They know the contents of the material. They know what products are in the material.
‘They should warn [us of] that, and they didn’t inform us anything about that.’
