Silicosis Surveillance in California 2019-2024: Tracking an Epidemic

Details

• Journal Article:
  American Journal of Public Health
• Personal Author:
  Flattery, Jennifer ; Woolsey, Chelsea ; Fazio, Jane C. ; Gandhi, Sheiphali A. ; Heinzerling, Amy ; Harrison, Robert J. ; Cummings, Kristin J.
• Description:
  Objectives. To characterize the nature, burden, and trends of silicosis among California workers, including workers with engineered stone exposures. Methods. We conducted multisource public health surveillance and generated descriptive statistics, compared engineered stone cases to cases with other silica exposures, and examined the utility of various data sources for silicosis surveillance. Results. We received 1817 reports of possible silicosis for 648 individuals from 2019 to 2024 and confirmed 296 (46%) cases, including 243 (82%) associated with engineered stone exposures. Engineered stone cases were more likely to be younger, men, Latino, and from Los Angeles County than were non-engineered stone cases. Of engineered stone cases, at least 15 (6%) were known to have died, and 60 (25%) were referred for lung transplant, including 30 (12%) who received transplants. There was limited overlap between reporting mechanisms. Conclusions. Multisource surveillance was effective for identifying a large number of individuals with silicosis, including people exposed to engineered stone. Outcomes were severe, and many patients had advanced disease. Results illustrate that worker screening and silica exposure mitigation are essential to prevent morbidity and mortality in the engineered stone countertop fabrication industry. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Occupational Health
  • Quartz
  • Respiratory System
  • Safety
  • Silicon Dioxide
  • Silicosis
• Keywords:
  • Silicosis
  • Surveillance
  • Stone products
  • Countertops
  • Lung fibrosis
  • Quartz dust
  • Stone processing
  • Public health
  • Occupational exposure
  • Silica dusts
  More +
• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement ; Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; San Francisco Region OSHA
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  9 pdf pages
• Volume:
  115
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071783
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2025 Nov; 115(11):1913-1921
• Contact Point Address:
  Jennifer Flattery, Occupational Health Branch, 850 Marina Bay Pkwy, Building P, 3rd Floor, Richmond, CA, 94804
• Email:
  Jennifer.flattery@cdph.ca.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  • Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/260007/cdc_260007_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.66 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c9822ae48f176903bb545a3c14fb10e38cac063db8896140c35d28344714f8daf2eda93616f0b489e005649addf5debc5ebcb99ae754c685b7f264d1320a1a2f