“Nobody uses water,” one man in a Dodgers cap said in Spanish when Maria Cabrera approached, holding flyers about silicosis, an incurable and suffocating disease that has devastated dozens of workers across the state and killed men who have barely reached middle age.

The disease dates back centuries, but researchers say the booming popularity of countertops made of engineered stone, which has much higher concentrations of silica than many kinds of natural stone, has driven a new epidemic of an accelerated form of the suffocating illness. As the dangerous dust builds up and scars the lungs, the disease can leave workers short of breath, weakened and ultimately suffering from lung failure.

“You can get a transplant,” Cabrera told the man in Spanish, “but it won’t last.”

In California, it has begun to debilitate young workers, largely Latino immigrants who cut and polish slabs of engineered stone. Instead of cropping up in people in their 60s or 70s after decades of exposure, it is now afflicting men in their 20s, 30s or 40s, said Dr. Jane Fazio, a pulmonary critical care physician who became alarmed by cases she saw at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. Some California patients have died in their 30s.

  • roguetrick@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    The fucked up part of this is how preventable it is. Very few folks will take to wearing a mask though, when that’s all they need.

    • Balios@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Here’s the full set of measures recommended:

      Workplace safety regulators have recommended a suite of measures including water spraying systems, ventilation and vacuum systems to clear dust, in addition to protective respirators for workers — ones covering the entire face if silica levels in the air are high.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Considering these are likely illegal immigrants working on these countertops, I wouldn’t be shocked if their employers refused to supply masks.

    • pixxelkick@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      False, read the article?

      Its more than just masks that are needed and the article makes that very clear.

        • Lmaydev@programming.dev
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          1 year ago

          They weren’t exactly rude and it is irritating when people comment on things in the article incorrectly.

          Also it’s not just respirators that are needed.

          Plus they are essentially blaming the workers claiming they won’t wear masks.

        • Owljfien@iusearchlinux.fyi
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          1 year ago

          You get “serious creep vibes” from someone saying “false read the article”? Christ what world do you live in

        • pixxelkick@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          No, respirator is a type of mask, thats not what I was referring to.

          The article mentions multiple times that masks are just one piece of the puzzle, and goes into a fair bit of detail about how its way more than that, that is needed.

          Read the article, it’s gone over in detail multiple times.