Finding of Emergency Section 5204 , Occupational Exposures to Respirable Crystalline Silica Business Meeting : December 14 , 2023 Page 15 of 36
• 500 shops ( 57 %) are likely in violation of one or more respiratory protection requirements . 51
• 400 shops ( 51 %) likely have one or more silica exposures above the PEL . 52
• 1,000 workers ( 25 %) likely have silica exposures above the PEL of 50 μg / m 3 . 53
15 ) An emergency regulation is necessary to protect workers in this industry .
California workers in the artificial stone fabrication industry are currently being exposed to hazardous levels of RCS that will kill and permanently disable a substantial part of the workforce from silicosis and other illnesses unless action is taken immediately to stop these exposures . Immediate action to stop these exposures cannot be done with the existing regulation – an emergency regulation is needed now to save the lives and well-being of these workers .
A large number of California workers in the artificial stone fabrication industry have already become sick or have died from silicosis , an entirely preventable disease . This is a new and emerging crisis that has come about with the introduction and large expansion of the use of artificial stone in countertops and similar products . If an emergency regulation is not implemented , California will experience an industrial disaster on a scale not seen since the silicosis disasters of the 1930s .
Workers exposed to RCS in the artificial stone fabrication industry are developing silicosis more often and with much more rapid progression compared to workers in the industries where silica exposure has traditionally occurred , and for whose protection the updated silica standards were promulgated in 2016 .
This is occurring because workers in this industry are facing a unique RCS hazard in artificial stone , on account of its very high silica content , and because the majority of employers in the industry are unable or unwilling to comply with title 8 requirements to prevent RCS exposures in the workplace .
In addition , the great majority of workers in this industry have very little ability to affect their working conditions , due to their immigrant status , limited alternative employment opportunities , language barriers , lack of union representation and other challenges . The result
51
0.57 * 808 workplaces = 461 workplaces ~ 500 with rounding .
52
0.51 * 808 workplaces = 412 workplaces ~ 400 with rounding .
53
0.25 * 4,040 workers = 1,001 workers ~ 1,000 with rounding .