Quote:
Originally Posted by blender
Engineered quartz is still the most common. I'm not up in the story dfrom Australia, but I believe it is simply a matter of bad/lack of proper protective gear for the underpaid workers cutting and polishing it. Like so many products, it is not inherently dangerous if you aren't turning it into dust and inhaling it.
Granite and marble are still part of the market place, and we are seeing granite with a recent resurgence.
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Just went down the internet rabbit hole on this. Seems it's safe when it's in your house, just the workers that are cutting it, but even even when wearing PPE and suppressing the dust with water there are reports of silicosis. Engineered stone can contain up to 90% silica.
While it may not be inherently dangerous, it's pretty difficult to get it installed and cut to shape without turning some of it into dust and inhaling it. So regulation and PPE would help but probably not solve entirely. And if you get silicosis, you're looking at a lung transplant. Yikes.
The US is looking at regulations as well:
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2023/07/42...a-workers-sick
PS. Can we blame this on HGTV?
