The New Asbestos: Quartz Countertop Industry Seeks Congressional Shield as Workers Die of Silicosis

In kitchens across America, engineered quartz countertops have become the premium surface of choice — sleek, durable, and available in hundreds of designer colors. But the workers who cut and polish these slabs are dying. And the companies that manufacture them want Congress to make sure those workers can never sue.

The Epidemic Behind the Elegance

Engineered stone — marketed under brands like Cambria, Caesarstone, and Cosentino's Silestone — typically contains more than 90% crystalline silica, far exceeding the 30% found in natural granite or the less than 10% in marble [1]. When workers cut, grind, and polish these slabs into kitchen and bathroom countertops, they release clouds of microscopic silica dust that, once inhaled, scars and stiffens the lungs in an irreversible process known as silicosis.

The disease has been known for centuries in mining. What's new is the speed and severity with which it strikes countertop fabricators — many of them young men in their 30s and 40s — and the sheer concentration of silica in the material they're handling.

As of early 2026, California's Department of Public Health has confirmed 519 cases of engineered-stone-associated silicosis and 29 deaths among countertop workers since 2019 [2]. The median age at diagnosis is 46; the median age at death is 49. Dozens have undergone lung transplants. And nearly all of the affected workers are Latino men, many of them undocumented immigrants working in small fabrication shops with inadequate dust controls [3].

An estimated 100,000 stone fabricators across the United States are potentially at risk [4]. Yet no national surveillance system exists for tracking silicosis cases, meaning California's numbers — the product of the state designating silicosis a reportable disease in 2025 — likely represent only a fraction of the true toll. Clusters have been documented in Texas, Colorado, Washington, Massachusetts, and Illinois [2].

Source: California Department of Public Health / KFF Health News

Data as of Mar 16, 2026CSV

The Bill: Legal Immunity for Manufacturers

In September 2025, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) introduced H.R. 5437, the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Stone Slab Products Act," co-sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) [5]. The bill's language is sweeping: it would prohibit any civil action — in federal or state court — against a manufacturer or seller of stone slab products for harm resulting from the "alteration" of those products by a fabricator. Critically, it would also dismiss all pending lawsuits on the date of enactment [6].

The structure mirrors the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, the 2005 law that shields gun manufacturers from most liability lawsuits — a parallel that has not been lost on critics [7].

On January 15, 2026, the House Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on the bill that exposed sharp partisan divisions. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) characterized lawsuits against stone manufacturers as "abusive litigation," blaming worker illnesses on "bad actor" fabrication shops rather than the companies producing the slabs [7]. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) accused Republicans of prioritizing industry interests: "Our colleagues were getting involved... not to help the workers, but to help the industry they work in" [7].

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) was more pointed: "Congress would make a millionaire CEO's problems go away just like that, while the workers who cut, grind, polish, and install this dangerous product struggle to make ends meet" [3].

Cambria's Campaign

At the center of the immunity push is Cambria, the nation's largest American-made engineered stone manufacturer, based in Le Sueur, Minnesota. The company's chief legal officer, Rebecca Shult, testified before Congress in January that fault for workers' silicosis rests not on "the stone slabs or manufacturers and distributors" but on "bad actor" fabrication shops "who violate the regulations and requirements" [1].

Cambria points to its own fabrication facilities — where it uses wet-cutting, ventilation systems, and respiratory protection — as proof that quartz can be processed safely. "We have no interest in selling to unsafe shops," Shult told lawmakers [1].

But Cambria's CEO Marty Davis is no stranger to Republican politics. A member of one of Minnesota's wealthiest families, Davis played a role in encouraging former President Trump to challenge the 2020 election results and successfully lobbied the Trump administration for tariffs of up to 500% on Chinese-made quartz — tariffs that directly benefited Cambria's market position [8]. The KFF Health News investigation found that Davis donated millions to Republican candidates [2]. Rep. Brad Finstad (R-Minn.), a co-sponsor of H.R. 5437, represents the district where Cambria is headquartered [2].

The company currently faces approximately 400 lawsuits from workers who developed silicosis while employed at other companies' fabrication shops — lawsuits that H.R. 5437 would extinguish [1].

The Workers' Counterargument

Workers, physicians, and plaintiffs' attorneys reject the industry's framing. The core of their argument: a material composed of more than 90% crystalline silica may simply be too dangerous to handle safely at scale, regardless of what precautions are taken.

"They've got it backwards," said Raphael Metzger, a California attorney who has filed roughly 200 silicosis cases. "It's not the lawsuits that should be banned, it's the stone slabs that should be banned" [1].

Dr. Robert Blink, an occupational medicine specialist, told KFF Health News that fabricating engineered stone is like "weaponizing the silica" [2]. David Michaels, former head of OSHA under the Obama administration, called the legislation "a death sentence for workers in this industry" and compared the manufacturers' defense to "the tobacco industry saying cigarettes are safe" [1][2].

The compliance data supports the skeptics. Recent California inspections found that zero workers were observed wearing appropriate respiratory protection during high-risk tasks, and at least 25% of fabrication shops continue dry-cutting stone in violation of regulations [1]. The industry's promise of safe handling has not translated into safe practice.

The $52.4 Million Verdict

The legal stakes became clear in August 2024, when a Los Angeles County jury delivered a $52.4 million verdict — the largest known silicosis award in U.S. history — against Caesarstone, Cambria, and Color Marble in the case of Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez [9].

Gonzalez, a 34-year-old immigrant from Mexico, was diagnosed with accelerated silicosis that required a lung transplant. The jury awarded $8.3 million in economic damages, $21.6 million in past non-economic damages, and $22.6 million in future non-economic damages. Crucially, jurors assigned only partial blame to the manufacturers — 15% to Caesarstone, 10% to Cambria, 2.5% to Color Marble — while placing 70% of responsibility on employers and 2.5% on the worker himself [9].

The verdict established that manufacturers do bear some responsibility, even when downstream employers fail safety protocols. It is precisely this legal precedent that H.R. 5437 seeks to eliminate. Over 370 additional lawsuits are currently pending [2].

Australia Banned It. America Wants to Protect It.

The contrast with Australia's response could not be starker. On July 1, 2024, Australia became the first country in the world to ban the manufacture, supply, processing, and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels, and slabs [10]. On January 1, 2025, engineered stone became a prohibited import [10].

Safe Work Australia's investigation found that engineered stone workers were dramatically over-represented in silicosis diagnoses and were developing the disease at much younger ages than workers in other industries, with most under 35 [10]. The ban is projected to prevent approximately 100 lung cancers and 1,000 silicosis cases over affected workers' lifetimes [10].

In California, regulators have moved in a similar direction. The state's Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board in December 2024 voted unanimously to make permanent an emergency temporary standard, in place since 2023, aimed at safeguarding engineered stone workers [5]. Some California officials are considering following Australia's outright ban model [1].

Source: OSHA / NIOSH / CDC

Data as of Mar 16, 2026CSV

The Industry Adapts — Slowly

Facing legal and regulatory pressure, some manufacturers have begun reformulating their products. In mid-2025, Israel-based Caesarstone introduced its first products containing less than 1% crystalline silica [2]. Spain-based Cosentino says one-third of its portfolio, including most new collections, now contains less than 10% crystalline silica [2].

These reformulations raise an uncomfortable question for the industry's legal defense: if engineered stone can be made with minimal silica, why was it manufactured for decades with 90% or more? And if the material itself isn't the problem — as manufacturers claim — why are they now racing to change its composition?

Cambria, notably, has not announced a shift to low-silica products, even as it leads the push for legal immunity [2].

Who Pays?

The silicosis epidemic exists at the intersection of immigration, deregulation, and consumer demand. The workers most affected are those with the least power — undocumented immigrants who may fear reporting workplace violations or seeking medical care. The fabrication shops where exposure occurs are often small operations with thin margins and minimal regulatory oversight. The manufacturers who profit from the material's popularity are several steps removed from the dust.

H.R. 5437 would formalize that distance into law, ensuring that liability stops at the fabrication shop door and never reaches the companies whose products generate the hazard. For the 519 confirmed cases in California — and the unknown number in states that aren't tracking — the question is whether Congress will side with an industry seeking to avoid accountability or with workers whose lungs are filling with stone.

The bill remains in the House Judiciary Committee. Its prospects depend on the same Republican majority that convened the January hearing. No companion bill has been introduced in the Senate.

What Comes Next

The silicosis crisis is accelerating. Cases continue to climb as more states implement surveillance. The engineered stone market shows no sign of slowing — Americans spend billions annually on kitchen renovations, and quartz remains the most popular countertop material. Every new installation means more cutting, more dust, and more workers at risk.

The legislative battle over H.R. 5437 will likely define whether the United States follows Australia toward restricting a hazardous product or instead offers its manufacturers an unprecedented legal shield. For workers like Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez, who at 34 needed a new set of lungs to survive, the stakes are not abstract. They are measured in breaths.