It will now be easier for the government to inspect shops where workers might get exposed to lung-damaging silica dust. But it's unclear how much it will affect countertop workers.
Slabs of engineered quartz are cut to order in thousands of shops around the country that may not adequately protect workers from dangerous levels of the lung-damaging contaminant.
In a letter, they urge the Labor Department to ensure safe levels of silica dust at workplaces that cut popular "engineered stone." At least 18 workers have recently suffered severe lung damage.
