California bill proposes silica safety standards for counter manufacturers

A bill introduced ahead of the 2025 legislative session in California aims to protect workers in stonecutting shops from exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

S.B. 20, filed Monday, would require the use of wet methods to cut stone slab products for countertops and other projects. The bill would authorize the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health to issue immediate stop-work orders to companies cutting stone slabs using dry methods.

The bill would also direct the Department of Public Health to adopt a training curriculum for safe fabrication activities and implement a process to certify that a person has completed the training.

The bill would also allow the department, working with Cal/OSHA, to track notices issued to fabrication shops for failure to comply with any temporary or future standards relating to respirable crystalline silica, the number of new cases of silicosis identified in shops, and the number of notices issued to shops found to be in noncompliance with regulations relating to respirable crystalline silica.

Cal/OSHA in December 2023 adopted an emergency temporary standard on respirable crystalline silica to protect workers from silicosis. The Department of Industrial Relations said the state Public Health Department had identified 95 cases of workers developing silicosis since 2019, including 10 fatalities.

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