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Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

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Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

#31

Post by bluGill »

jimbob45 wrote: post #3

Many went without masks. Some had water spurting from their machines, but others had nothing to tamp down the powder rising in the air. Does OSHA not require masks in these cases?

Have you ever wore a respirator? Not a mask (which all already uncomfortable to wear all day), but the full respirator which is what is needed for this dust. I've done it for an hour when working with chemicals (different filter from dust, but otherwise the same) and I was glad to get it off.it is hard to blame someone for not wanting to wear them all day. They still should.

If you need to wear a respirator all day i'm told the most comfortable is an air supply and dragging a hose behind you.

Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

#32

Post by WirelessGigabit »

fzeroracer wrote: post #14
victorbstan wrote: post #4

A lot of workers don’t wear protective gear. By choice. Nobody to blame but themselves.

Realistically, protective gear (actually protective gear, not thin dust masks) is expensive. The workers cant afford it, and the businesses want to save the money. There's some small margin of workers who have access to protective gear but don't wear it, but in reality for most workers it's the job of the company to provide it and train workers to use it.

Your employer should provide you with all the tools you need to do your job safely.

Weirdly enough, that doesn't apply to car mechanics which seem to be dead set on bringing their own tools to work.

Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

#33

Post by mabbo »

jader201 wrote: post #26

Not long ago, we had our countertop replaced (from quartz to granite). They ended up having to make a cut in it while it was sitting in our kitchen. Our home was in a cloud of dust for several hours, and when the dust finally settled a day later, every surface imaginable was covered in dust. I’m pretty sure none of them wore masks when doing this. I honestly didn’t think to wear a mask either (since they weren’t and…

> My guess is the industry just isn’t educating workers about the risks.

My guess is that the companies that did were undercut by the ones that didn't.

Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

#34

Post by convolvatron »

jimbob45 wrote: post #3

Many went without masks. Some had water spurting from their machines, but others had nothing to tamp down the powder rising in the air. Does OSHA not require masks in these cases?

how big do you have to be to get an actual OSHA inspection? I've worked in lost of small and medium shops of various kinds and the local fire department will show an interest sometimes, but I've never heard of anyone getting involved with OSHA for any reason.

Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

#35

Post by spankalee »

willcipriano wrote: post #30
jimbob45 wrote: post #3

Many went without masks. Some had water spurting from their machines, but others had nothing to tamp down the powder rising in the air. Does OSHA not require masks in these cases?

> OSHA had only 750 safety inspectors in place at the end of FY2021[0] Contrast that with recent efforts to hire nearly one hundred thousand IRS agents to get a sense of the priorities of your leadership. [0] https://www.fisherphillips.com/en/news-insights/workplace-sa...

Tax cheats are bad, actually. And those taxes are required to pay those safety inspectors, among others.

Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

#36

Post by icegreentea2 »

thadk wrote: post #8

According to this podcast, Cass Sunstein, co-author of Nudge, used his economist-oriented federal government department to delay and block legislated regulation related to protection for silicosis during the Obama administration. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-books-could-kill/id...

I was interested, but also didn't want to scrub through a podcast. Summary:

Cass Sunstein was the administer of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The OIRA is given the remit to review drafted rules (ie regulations) that various federal agencies want to enact. The OIRA is supposed to perform an external cost-benefit analysis of the proposed regulations. OIRA is suppose to turn around rulings in 90 days.

While Cass Sunstein was administrator (2009 to 2012), various pieces of regulation were submitted for review, and ended up being reviewed for ~3+ years. Examples include:

* Requiring rear-view cameras (submitted for review in 2011, regulation finally passed in 2014 with a 2018 deadline for compliance)

* The silicosis workplace safety regulations (as mentioned - submitted in 2011, finally passed review in 2013)

* Coal ash handling regulations (from the EPA) delayed from 2009 to 2014

For the specific case of silicosis specifically, it doesn't appear that the OIRA ended up blocking the regulation, though it certainly slowed it down.

Some news articles:

* https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science/white-ho...

* https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-regu...

* https://www.theregreview.org/2013/11/26/26-verchick-silica/

It is worth noting that these delays continued after Sunstein left office, and there's certainly evidence of OIRA significantly delaying review processes prior to Suntein's term as administrator.

Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

#37

Post by dcow »

aaomidi wrote: post #20
willcipriano wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Removing the availability of cheap labor by providing more worker rights, and less/no criminalization of undocumented immigrants alongside an h1b reform would do wonders for the general health of this society.

Nobody is against cheap workers paying taxes. They’re against undocumented workers getting paid under the table and unfairly competing with documented workers that have to pay taxes and thus are more expensive. Gotta solve the documentation problem one way or another.

Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

#39

Post by mabbo »

What I find interesting when comparing the US the Canada on topics like these is that in Canada, there is self-interest in demanding workers be protected. Like beyond the fact that it's a good thing you do.

Because we have a public health care system, funded by taxes, having a large number of young men out of the work force (not paying taxes) and using the health care system effectively means my taxes, everyone's taxes, are higher.

There's incentives for our government to protect workers from risks that will cost a fortune to fix.

In America, there's only the "because it's the right thing to do" reason, which is never enough for anyone to actually do anything.

Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis

#40

Post by gpderetta »

jader201 wrote: post #26

Not long ago, we had our countertop replaced (from quartz to granite). They ended up having to make a cut in it while it was sitting in our kitchen. Our home was in a cloud of dust for several hours, and when the dust finally settled a day later, every surface imaginable was covered in dust. I’m pretty sure none of them wore masks when doing this. I honestly didn’t think to wear a mask either (since they weren’t and…

> Fortunately it was a granite countertop and not quartz

A relative of mine died of silicosis after having worked for years in the granite industry. Granite is probably as bad without adequate protection.

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