Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis
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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
#2"Nearly half of the workers suffering silicosis in the UCLA and UCSF study said their workplaces were using water to control dust. Roughly a quarter said they always had respiratory protection. Fazio said studies have found that in many shops, dust is so thick in the air that respirators cannot filter out a sufficient amount.
Metzger argued that the kind of sophisticated and costly measures that would be needed to reliably protect workers cutting engineered stone are not economically plausible in an industry where immigrant workers typically labor in small shops and are often paid in cash. Engineered stone "is too dangerous to be used safely," he said. "If there’s any industrial product that should be banned, this is the product.""
All this thanks to synthetic stone - important note for countertops owners, if you want to make sure you don't support the product
Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis
#3Many 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?
Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis
#4A lot of workers don’t wear protective gear. By choice. Nobody to blame but themselves.
Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis
#5Many 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?
Definitely an OSHA requirement, but there's no guarantee that 1) management supports the necessary supplies, checks, reminders, actions, etc or 2) workers want to wear the respirators/masks in general. On top of that, inspectors may be instructed (depending on inspection management, training, etc) that the water based dust suppression is good enough. Even if they want to see masks, management and workers may only implement them during inspections. Adherence to rules is necessary for rules to do anything anywere, ever.
Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis
#6A lot of workers don’t wear protective gear. By choice. Nobody to blame but themselves.
I have had things cut for me and I find myself begging the workers to wear ear pro, eye pro, air pro, and they invariably smile, nod, and work without it. Even if I point out the protective gear sitting near the work area. I too was young once. Now I wear the kit.
Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis
#7"Nearly half of the workers suffering silicosis in the UCLA and UCSF study said their workplaces were using water to control dust. Roughly a quarter said they always had respiratory protection. Fazio said studies have found that in many shops, dust is so thick in the air that respirators cannot filter out a sufficient amount. Metzger argued that the kind of sophisticated and costly measures that would be needed to re…
>dust is so thick in the air that respirators cannot filter out a sufficient amount
This is not a technology problem, this is an 1880s "Safety devices are too expensive problem" along with paid under the table workers problem. All kinds of other industries manufacture 'dangerous' products with regulations that protect the workers. Housing and agriculture are both industries that do not and fight ever further for anti-regulations to protect the workers even less.
Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis
#8According 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...
Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis
#9"Nearly half of the workers suffering silicosis in the UCLA and UCSF study said their workplaces were using water to control dust. Roughly a quarter said they always had respiratory protection. Fazio said studies have found that in many shops, dust is so thick in the air that respirators cannot filter out a sufficient amount. Metzger argued that the kind of sophisticated and costly measures that would be needed to re…
Apparently sandblasted jeans are another issue:
Re: Workers who cut countertops are dying of silicosis
#10A lot of workers don’t wear protective gear. By choice. Nobody to blame but themselves.
This is both a collective action problem (people not using the right gear will be faster and cheaper than those with, meaning bad behavior outcompetes good) and an information asymmetry problem - workers are usually not fully aware of the problems they're creating for themselves.