Engineered stone, or quartz, is a man-made material made with high concentrations of silica that is commonly used to make kitchen countertops in the U.S.
But doctors are seeing more and more workers in the countertop industry developing silicosis, an often deadly lung disease linked to inhaling toxic dust the material releases when powercut. Even though California has safety rules in place to reduce the risk to workers, some say it’s time to ban the use of engineered stone altogether.
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Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.
