Countertop maker faces $1M in penalties over worker’s lung transplant

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Monday that it cited a Chicago countertop manufacturer after an employee needed a double lung transplant due to injuries from workplace silica dust exposure.

OSHA cited Florenza Marble & Granite Corp. for eight “egregious willful,” four “willful” and 20 “serious” safety and health violations and proposed more than $1 million in penalties following a February investigation.

Inspectors who visited the company to conduct air sampling discovered “employees laboring in a haze of dust throughout the workplace” and found workers improperly using respirators, according to OSHA.

Inspectors found silica dust levels six times higher than permissible levels.

The agency also said Florenza owner Brad Karp failed to develop a safety program or monitor the health of its six employees, even though two workers compensation insurers refused to insure the company in 2022 and 2024 for failing to provide air sampling or prove workers were protected.

OSHA said in addition to the double lung transplant case, another worker is awaiting a silicosis-related lung transplant and yet another worker has been treated for “unresolved work-related lung disease” for more than three years.

OSHA, citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the life expectancy for silicosis patients is reduced by 11 years and that the chances of surviving for 15 years after a lung transplant decrease by 11%.

Florenza has 15 business days to contest the citation and proposed penalties.