Insidious way the pursuit of the perfect kitchen is killing American workers

Quartz countertops person go a must-have summation to modern kitchens and bathrooms successful able households. 

But nan bluish collar workers tasked pinch making them are coming down pinch a deadly information dubbed 'black lung'.

Known medically arsenic silicosis, nan illness occurs erstwhile mini shards of stone, mini capable to permeate look masks, are breathed successful and make micro cuts successful nan lungs.

Over time, this tears origin irreversible harm to nan organs, making nan condition effectively a decease condemnation unless nan personification undergoes lung transplants, which only bargain them a fistful of years. 

Now, dozens of victims are suing stonemakers for failing to protect them successful a increasing activity of lawsuits that could upend nan world of location renovation. 

One specified worker is Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez of California, 34, who had double lung transplant aft moving to nan US from Mexico and fitting able family kitchens and bathrooms crossed Orange County. 

He won astatine slightest $8 cardinal aliases perchance more, depending connected what a judge decides wrong nan adjacent month, against businesses that make and administer engineered chromatic aft assemblage agreed that they were astatine slightest partially responsible for nan unwellness that has near him successful symptom and adjacent death. 

His lawyer James Nevin told DailyMail.com that he presently represents astir 300 workers successful California who person sustained achy lung injuries arsenic a consequence of doing their jobs. 

Many of nan victims are successful their 30s and 40s and will dice wrong astir 10 years.

Mr Nevin told DailyMail.com: 'We're uncovering a 92 percent prevalence complaint - astir fabrication workers will get silicosis... this is conscionable nan extremity of nan iceberg.' 

Mr Gonzalez is 1 of scores of plaintiffs successful cases alleging that chromatic makers and distributors covered up nan risks of moving pinch their products, but his was nan first to spell to trial.

His lawyers judge his lawsuit is simply a bellwether for much to come, pinch Mr Nevin adding that 'it's nan first of galore hundreds if not thousands.'

Mr Gonzalez immigrated to nan US from Mexico arsenic a teen to flight poverty, and began moving greeting to evening, six days a week, cutting slabs of quartz chromatic to beryllium utilized successful kitchens and bathrooms.

The durable chromatic is simply a celebrated prime for Americans looking to update their countertops, arsenic it is power and stain resistant, and much durable than granite. 

To nan customer, it's a harmless, aesthetically pleasing summation to nan home. But to nan worker who saws disconnected pieces and sizes it, nan chromatic is deadly. 

Even though quartz is simply a people occurring mineral, nan type recovered successful American homes is simply a substance of silica – a chemic compound – and different materials specified arsenic metals, resins, and dyes.

When workers for illustration Mr Gonzalez respire successful nan particulate while sawing pieces of it, nan particulate matter travels to nan lungs and origin inflammation and scarring. 

This typically wreaks imperishable harm to nan lungs and causes shortness of breath, terrible coughing, and eventually, oxygen therapy and astatine slightest 1 lung transplant.

Mr Gonzalez noticed his symptoms worsen successful 2020, having worked successful nan manufacture for complete a decade. It would return astir a twelvemonth to study nan existent quality of his diagnosis.

He told Business of Home: '[The pulmonologist] told maine 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 successful silica.'

'I asked him, 'What are we going to do? Is location immoderate treatment?' and he said, 'There's thing we tin do for you, because location is nary cure for this disease.'

Mr Gonzalez near his doctor's assignment successful crisis, definite that he was going to die.

He added: 'I decided to support moving because I needed to prevention immoderate money for what was coming. Actually, what I was doing was redeeming money for my funeral.'

Mr Gonzalez survived only because he was capable to person 2 lung transplants successful February 2023. 

But hundreds of thousands of Americans are not truthful lucky. They are languishing connected agelong hold lists for transplants, and 17 group connected those hold lists dice each day.  

Mr Gonzalez will request different 1 successful 7 to 10 years, according to 1 of his lawyers, Raphael Metzger, and apt will not unrecorded past 50.

Mr Metzger said: 'Hopefully, he'll person different 16 years of life, but it won't beryllium a high-quality life. He's not well. He'll ne'er beryllium whole.'

Mr Gonzalez has worked successful a drawstring of chromatic masonry shops, stressing that nan problem facing workers is communal and widespread.

He testified that astatine times, nan unreality of particulate successful nan aerial astatine these shops would bent complete nan workers like a heavy fog.

His disguise became 'very filthy' and, moreover erstwhile he would trim nan chromatic pinch h2o to minimize nan particulate exposure, nan chromatic would later barren and 'a batch of particulate would travel off.'

Caesarstone, which manufactured nan quartz, said nan onus was connected nan shops, not nan chromatic manufacturer, to guarantee worker safety, saying successful tribunal that injuries could person been prevented if those 'who owned and operated nan fabrication shop wherever he worked had done what Caesarstone asked them to do.'

Much of nan multi-week lawsuit centered connected determining nan protective measures basal to shield workers from silica particulate generated by engineered stone, nan Los Angeles Times reported.

A bid of master witnesses testified connected nan hazards of cutting specified chromatic slabs. Dr. Kenneth Rosenman highlighted that Reyes Gonzalez developed silicosis moreover though he utilized water-dispensing tools, which Rosenman explained were 'not sufficiently protective.'

Industrial hygienist Stephen Petty, different master for nan plaintiff, characterized N95 masks arsenic 'bottom of nan barrel' protection against engineered chromatic dust. He added that moreover high-grade respirators pinch cleanable aerial tanks aren't a 'permanent solution,' arsenic workers thin to set nan fit, disrupting nan protective seal.

Mr Gonzalez's lawsuit and that of dozens of different workers is apt to person a profound effect connected nan location renewal manufacture arsenic request for materials pinch little silica contented will apt increase.

Safety protocols for chromatic manufacturers will apt go much stringent arsenic well, calling for much costly particulate power and ventilation systems and much individual protective equipment. Many shops for illustration nan ones Mr Gonzalez worked successful for complete a decade whitethorn acquisition immoderate financial nonaccomplishment trying to meet caller standards.

A prohibition connected engineered chromatic is not connected nan contiguous sky but nan activity of lawsuits could spur further regulatory action, including tighter vulnerability limits handed down by nan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and enhanced aerial value monitoring astatine shops and factories.

Mr Gonzalez  struggle is acold from over. He now faces a life of regular medication, which increases his crab consequence owed to nan immunosuppressants he needs to forestall organ rejection.

His medications person rendered him sterile, and he and his woman will ne'er beryllium capable to fulfill their dream of having a child.  

His terrible coughing fits besides damaged his tummy and diaphragm, requiring an further surgeries. Altogether, his life expectancy has been extended to only 10 years.

Gonzalez holds chromatic manufacturers responsible for concealing nan dangers of their products: 'They make nan material. They cognize nan contents of nan material. They cognize what products are successful nan material.

'They should pass [us of] that, and they didn't pass america thing astir that.'