Congressional lawmakers are calling on the Department of Labor to strengthen the protection for workers who may be unsafely cutting engineered-stone countertops. Engineered stone has been found to have high levels of silica, increasing the risk of silica dust inhalation for workers cutting the slabs. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 18 cases of illness, including two deaths, among engineered-stone workers in four states. The response to the CDC's research has triggered a call to action among Congress, NPR reports.
Lawmakers say the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration needs to create a new National Emphasis Program that will make it easier to for the agency to inspect workplaces that cut engineered stone, to make sure levels of silica dust are within allowable limits.
"We are calling on OSHA to issue, without delay, a new NEP that focuses on engineered stone fabrication establishments," the lawmakers write. "Absent timely action, OSHA will be failing these stone finishing workers and failing in its mission."
The two lawmakers also call on OSHA to work with the CDC and state health departments to improve surveillance for silica-related diseases. They say they want an update on the plans to protect workers in the engineered stone fabrication industry by Oct. 21.
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