Episode 7 – Ban Artificial Stone

Podcast: From Dust to Verdict
Host: James Nevin, Partner at Brayton Purcell LLP

In this powerful episode, host James Nevin examines why the only effective solution to the growing epidemic of artificial stone silicosis is to ban crystalline silica artificial stone altogether. Drawing on global evidence and decades of peer-reviewed occupational health studies, the episode unpacks how foreign manufacturers’ artificial stone slab products have allegedly driven an unprecedented rise in fatal lung disease among countertop fabricators across the United States.

Listeners learn how silicosis—once nearly eradicated by modern safety controls—has returned in a deadlier accelerated form due to exposure to artificial stone slabs containing high concentrations of nano-sized crystalline silica. Nevin traces the evolution of this crisis from early outbreaks in Israel, Spain, and Australia, to its arrival in the United States, where cases have surged rapidly in recent years.

The discussion highlights:

• During the several decades in which only natural stone was used to fabricate countertops, there were zero identified cases of silicosis in fabrication workers anywhere in the world.  And, how the dangers of artificial stone fabrication differs from traditional natural stone fabrication.
• How foreign slab manufacturers have knowingly distributed allegedly hazardous artificial stone products worldwide.
• The public health catastrophe unfolding in at least 16 U.S. states as cases multiply.
• Why engineering controls and protective equipment fail to prevent disease during artificial stone fabrication.
• The proposed HR 5437 bill in Congress, which would bail out foreign manufactures at the expense of  of American workers.
• How Australia’s nationwide ban on artificial stone could serve as a model for the U.S.

Through this episode, Nevin underscores a crucial truth supported by extensive global published peer-reviewed medical and scientific literature and regulatory health organizations: artificial stone countertops cannot be fabricated safely by human workers, even using the most protective worker safety mechanisms. Until these products are banned, and replaced with natural stone and recycled glass, thousands of U.S. young fabrication workers remain at risk of developing incurable accelerated silicosis and related diseases.

Listen to and watch “Ban Artificial Stone” to understand how a preventable occupational health crisis has become a global tragedy—and what it will take to stop it.

(For Spanish-speaking listeners, a Spanish-language version of this podcast is available, Del polvo al veredicto, hosted by Brayton Purcell LLP attorney Charley Velasco Ariza.)