A countertop maker in Chicago has been fined $1 million after staff developed severe lung disease from years of working in silica dust.
Florenza Marble & Granit Corp has been hit by fines from the US Department of Labor and OSHA over conditions at the workspace. Inspectors say they found workers carrying out their duties in a “haze of dust”. They also found workers were not using respirators properly.
It was found the company had few controls in place to reduce staff from silica exposure. It was also found levels of the harmful dust was six times more than is allowed.
One member of staff, aged 31, needed a double lung transplant after suffering accelerated silicosis ‒ an incurable lung disease.
Another, who is the man’s father, is also awaiting a lung transplant. A third is also being treated for unresolved work-related lung disease.
No Safety Program
Further investigation found the company and owner Brad Karp did not develop a safety program to protect or monitor the health of its six employees. This was despite two workers’ compensation insurance carriers refusing to insure the company in 2022 and 2024 for not providing air sampling or proving it protected its workers.
The Centers for Disease Control And Prevention estimates life expectancy for people diagnosed with silicosis is reduced by about 11 years. Chances of surviving 15 years after lung transplants are less than 11%.
Need Career Advice? Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career
OSHA Chicago Regional Administrator Bill Donovan said:
“Our compliance officers found silica dust levels nearly six times higher than permissible levels and the owner made little or no effort to protect his employees from exposure,”
“To make matters worse, Karp was indifferent to his employees’ suffering and refused to accept any responsibility for protecting them, even after two insurance carriers dropped the company for its egregious defiance of workplace safety standards.”
The two workers suffering from silicosis have limited English and received no information from their employer about the dangers of silica exposure.. They were also given no training in the use of personal protective equipment or precautions to protect their safety and health.
Specifically, OSHA found the following willful violations:
- Failing to establish a baseline of employees’ medical health to monitor silica exposure.
- Not performing medical surveillance to monitor exposure.
- Lacking engineering and administrative controls to reduce silica dust to safe levels.
- Exposing workers to unsafe levels of silica dust.
- Failing to have a respiratory protection program in place.
The agency identified 20 serious violations related to its lack of housekeeping, respirator deficiencies, lack of a silica exposure control plan or hazard communication program, not training employees in the use of compressed air and allowing its improper use.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
