The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors took a preliminary step Tuesday that could lead to a countywide ban on artificial-stone countertops, the source of an epidemic that is killing workers who fabricate the products. The county is ground zero for silicosis, a fatal disease caused by the inhalation of silica dust unleashed when the countertops are cut or ground. Public Health Watch, LAist and Univision first reported the existence of what’s believed to be the nation’s biggest cluster of the incurable illness in December. Last month, Public Health Watch reported that California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA, had begun drafting an emergency silica rule and launched a special enforcement program in response to the outbreak.At its meeting Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion directing the county’s director of public health to report within 90 days “on the options to ban the sale, fabrication, and installation of silica fabricated stone in the County, including a plan to educate and advise businesses, with options for the use of other construction materials with less health risks to workers…” Should a ban on artificial-stone — also known as engineered-stone — products be imposed, it would be the first in the United States. 

洛杉矶县监事会周二采取了初步措施，可能导致全县禁止人造石台面，这是导致制造这些产 品的工人死亡的流行病的根源。 该县是矽肺病的零点，矽肺病是一种致命的疾病，由吸入台面切割或研磨时释放的二氧化硅 粉尘引起。公共卫生观察，LAist 和 Univision 在 12 月首次报告了被认为是全国最大的不治之症 集群的存在。上个月，公共卫生观察报告称，加利福尼亚州职业安全与健康部（Cal / OSHA）已 开始起草紧急二氧化硅规则，并启动了一项特别执法计划以应对疫情。 在周二的会议上，监事会一致批准了一项动议，指示该县公共卫生局局长在 90 天内报告“禁 止在该县销售，制造和安装二氧化硅制造石材的选择，包括教育和建议企业的计划，可以选择使 用其他建筑材料，对工人的健康风险较小......” 如果禁止人造石材（也称为工程石材）产品，这将是美国的第一个禁令。 

In a statement, a co-author of the motion, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, said that two-thirds of the reported cases of silicosis in California have been in the county’s Third District, which she represents“This is entirely preventable and wholly unacceptable,” Horvath said. “We can end silicosis and better protect vulnerable members of our community by increasing awareness and education in coordination with our labor and public health partners.” The board’s action Tuesday could have broader implications. The motion it approved also directs the county’s chief executive officer to report within 60 days on “legislative and regulatory advocacy options at the State and Federal levels to educate regarding the health risks associated with the use of silica-fabricated stone, strengthening regulatory enforcement, and banning the product.” Dr. Jane Fazio, a pulmonary physician at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in the San Fernando Valley, watched the supervisors’ vote in real time and called it a “huge win.” “The first step to protecting workers is to use the safest products and we know engineered stone has high silica content and is inherently dangerous,” said Fazio, who has cared for more than three dozen silicosis patients. “This isn’t the only material we can make countertops out of.” Since 2019, the California Department of Public Health has identified 69 cases of silicosis among artificial-stone fabrication workers, a number it believes to be an undercount. Most of those cases are in the Los Angeles area. All the victims are Latino men.

该动议的合著者林赛·霍瓦特（Lindsey Horvath）在一份声明中表示，加利福尼亚州报告的 矽肺病病例中有三分之二发生在她所代表的该县第三区。 “这是完全可以预防的，也是完全不可接受的，”霍瓦特说。“通过与我们的劳工和公共卫生 合作伙伴协调，我们可以提高认识和教育，从而结束矽肺病并更好地保护我们社区的弱势成员。” 董事会周二的行动可能会产生更广泛的影响。它批准的动议还指示该县首席执行官在 60 天 内报告“州和联邦层面的立法和监管倡导方案，以教育与使用二氧化硅制造的石材相关的健康风 险，加强监管执法，并禁止该产品。 圣费尔南多谷 Olive View-UCLA 医疗中心的肺科医生 Jane Fazio 博士实时观看了主管的投 票，并称这是“巨大的胜利”。 “保护工人的第一步是使用最安全的产品，我们知道工程石材的二氧化硅含量很高，本质上 是危险的，”Fazio 说，他照顾了三十多名矽肺病患者。“这不是我们可以用来制作台面的唯一材 料。 自 2019 年以来，加州公共卫生部已在人工结石制造工人中发现了 69 例矽肺病病例，它认 为这个数字被低估了。这些病例大多发生在洛杉矶地区。所有受害者都是拉丁裔男子。

Gustavo Reyes Gonzalez, 32, at his attorney's office in Long Beach. He was diagnosed with pulmonary silicosis in 2021. His lawyer said he received a double-lung transplant in Feb. 2023 and as of May 2023 was doing well.

32 岁的古斯塔沃·雷耶斯·冈萨雷斯在长滩的律师办公室里。2021 年，他被诊断出患有肺矽肺病。他的律师说，他在 2023 年 2 月接受了双肺移植手术，截至 2023 年 5 月，他的身体状况 良好。