Workers Are Falling Ill, Even Dying, After Making Kitchen Countertops

www.npr.org ^ | October 2, 20195:03 AM ET | Nell Greenfieldboyce

[dljordan]

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

[Red Badger]

I would die just pronouncing that..............

[SunkenCiv]

Those inconvenient filter masks don't sound so inconvenient after the fact. Thanks Red Badger.

[TalBlack]

It’s not hard: You cut in curtained booths with a dust collector maintaining constant negative pressure.

[Grimmy]

Vaping will kill us all......................How long before ‘2nd Hand Vaping’ is a problem?....................

******

Gotta read the article.

We’re all vaping Roundup out of devices made from silica dust.

[Lovely-Day-For-A-Guinness]

All this is is the modern day version of knife grinders at countless factories in Sheffield, England.

Imagine laying on your belly with a rotating stone near your face, and grinding knives and other edge tools day in and day out.

Many suffered early deaths, not just from breathing all the airborne particles, but also having stones 'explode' in their face.

And many of us think we have a suck job today!

[catnipman]

“This will be the next Asbestos”{

except that contracting fatal silicosis from constant exposure to fine silicon dust in an occupational environment is a very real thing that is very well documented ... any business that’s in the business of cutting stone containing silicon better control the dust and make sure workers are wearing high-quality respirators or they’re going to be sued out of existence, OSHA or no OSHA ... quite frankly it’s criminal to knowingly expose workers to stuff that you know is going to kill them ...

[dljordan]

“I would die just pronouncing that..............”

I saw that in a dictionary in the sixth grade, 1961. I was impressed.

[Robert A Cook PE]

The workers were nearly all Hispanic, almost all were men, and most had “severe, progressive disease.”

Illegal aliens. Job shops, little lubricating water, no gloves on the man working in the photograph from the article!

[moovova]

That stuff’s bad. Over the years I’ve inhaled too much dust while cutting stone, brick, MDF lumber around the house...to the point my lungs started “crackling”. Wearing facemasks (now) and doing a lot of walking has cleared it up so far.

[Larry Lucido]

I lost money selling countertops.

I don’t take anything for granite.

[Red Badger]

But DDT is bad........................

[Grimmy]

But Double Ds are good.

[blueplum]

get unfinished block slabs from lowes or home depot and put it in yourself, stain it the tone you want. If you need help with cutting and measuring, and your neighbors are all thumbs, your local boy scout troop is an excellent resource - they need to earn badges so why not earn some fair pay and a badge by helping you out holding one end of the measuring tape or pounding a few nails? (and a lot of times the kids come with a parent - bonus!). Your existing granite is going to be heavy and you’ll need help to remove it, but you can recycle into a patio table or window seat or a gopher proof base of a raised garden, or sell it.

video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiy3APcupcY

[nikos1121]

I agree, but there’s a drop In sink plus I got some beautiful GA mahogany custom fitted. I’m happy.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Workers Are Falling Ill, Even Dying, After Making Kitchen Countertops

I guess the collectivists are correct - we have to kill the white middle class before their consumer spending habits kill all of us. /s

[McGruff]

Where’s Greta on this?

[Chickensoup]

I love my white tile counters. They are shiny clean and easy to maintain.

[Red Badger]

Breathing deeply in sympathy I hope................