The Northeast San Fernando Valley is the Epicenter of a Fatal Lung Disease

This is the third part in an occasional series on silicosis.

The San Fernando Valley is the epicenter of silicosis cases in California – a fatal long-term occupational lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust, a mineral found in certain stones, rocks, sand and clay, used in the manufacturing of artificial stone countertops. Exposure causes lung inflammation and scarring, which can lead to severe lung disease and even death. 

However, as silicosis cases continue to rise at alarming rates, there has been a seeming lack of urgency to take necessary action to protect stone fabrication workers from the irreversible and fatal, however, preventable, disease. 

“The time is now,” said Monica Rodriguez, research associate and student at the University of Southern California (USC), during a Los Angeles City Health Commission meeting. “It’s our responsibility to step up and do something about it.”

Rodriguez and Neyha Parmar, two research associates for the City Health Commission and USC students, made a compelling presentation about silicosis – its history, recent updates and recommendations – to the LA City Health Commission on Nov. 18.

“Imagine being forced to stop working because you get sick and it gets so bad that you can’t walk anymore,” said Monica Rodriguez in her opening remarks.

She continued, asking the commissioners to imagine after months of pain they finally get diagnosed with silicosis and are told they have two years left to live. Then, they receive a lung transplant, go through painful procedures and are confined to their homes, all in the hope of extending their lives by just a few more years.

“Imagine … knowing so many of your friends, your co-workers, your colleagues, the people that you spend more than eight hours a day with, are being diagnosed with grade one silicosis, dying or either dead,” she continued. “Well, for more than 190 Angelenos, they don’t have to imagine this, because they’re living through this right now. This is their current reality.”

Northeast Valley Workers Have Highest Rates of  Silicosis

“Of the known silicosis cases, more than 60% came from the San Fernando Valley,” said Rodriguez. “As of 2024, there are 190 known silicosis cases in California. Of those, 114 come from the San Fernando Valley.” 

In 2023, the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health (DPH) submitted a memorandum to the Board of Supervisors claiming that “the San Fernando Valley has become ground zero for silicosis cases in Los Angeles County” due to the high volume of stone-cutting and fabrication businesses in the area. 

The study stated that over 100 of the approximately 285 fabrication facilities in the county are located in the East San Fernando Valley industrial areas of Pacoima, Sun Valley, San Fernando and Van Nuys.

Stone fabrication shops often produce artificial stone countertops, a cheaper option with a much higher silica concentration – up to 95% silica compared to granite (50%) and natural stone (2%). Workers who cut, grind and polish the artificial slabs are at a high risk of contracting silicosis.

“Shops looked white because of how much dust there was,” one outreach worker recalled during a community forum on silicosis earlier this month.  

The majority of these stone fabrication workers are Latino men, many also being undocumented. According to the 2023 study, all but one silicosis case were Latino immigrants, with 62% coming from Mexico, 27% from El Salvador and 10% from other parts of Central America. 

“This is a public health crisis, and because it is impacting the most vulnerable of a population, I think it’s easier [for some] to just not see it as a priority,” commented Dr. Stephanie Lemus, LA City Health commissioner.

Recently, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California (Cal/OSHA) implemented a temporary emergency standard to protect workers. It mandated dust suppression through the use of wet-cutting methods and vacuum systems with filters. It also required employers to provide their workers with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and information about the risks of silica exposure. 

Employers must also report cases of silicosis to Cal/OSHA and the California Department of Public Health within 24 hours. Noncompliance with the mandates could lead to fines or other legal repercussions for employers.

Despite the Cal/OSHA mandate, silicosis cases are still on the rise, which has raised concerns about enforcement and the ability of the industry to safely produce fabricated countertops. 

“There are measures to mitigate, but they’re not foolproof,” said Rodriguez, adding that “​Cal/OSHA isn’t doing much. They’re not really enforcing. They’re not protecting these people.”

A Call to Ban Production

Rodriguez and Parmar presented three recommendations for the commission to adopt and present to the city council: to prohibit the manufacturing, supply, processing and installation of all artificial stone containing more than 1% crystalline silica; make silicosis a compensatable work-related disease and reportable disease; and create a task force to coordinate initiatives between workers, employers, health care systems and local officials.

However, the two were met with pushback from some commissioners who were hesitant to recommend a complete ban on the product. 

“I don’t think the city council would ban the sale, and if they did, they’d be lobbied against and sued,” said Dr. Howard C. Mandel, LA City Health Commission president. “We could make that recommendation, but if we did, we’re just virtue signaling. It’s not going to have an impact on the disease or the prevalence of the disease.”

Mandel and others on the commission raised questions about how a ban would impact the economy and jobs in the industry, noting that these manufacturers would move outside the city or even to other counties.

“It’s only going to hurt the community and the people of color who are working,” said Mandel. “They’re going to lose their jobs, or they’re going to have to move, or they’re going to have to commute out of the city of Los Angeles to have their job.”

One LA City Health Commissioner, Corinne Ho, took a firm stance in favor of the ban. 

“Working with this material is a death sentence,” said Ho. “At the end of the day, are we choosing the death of these folks, or are we choosing the potential loss of jobs?

“I would like to move to ban – to prohibit the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of all artificial stone containing more than 1% crystalline silica,” Ho said. “For my own conscience, it is the right thing to do under the circumstances. As our researchers indicated, we are against the clock.”

Commissioners also suggested that the city council could pressure county and state officials to address the matter, or to pressure Cal/OSHA to “do their job.” 

Rodriguez said the ban could set a precedent, because “when we do something, everyone else watches” and Angelenos “should be setting that example for other cities.”

The meeting ended without a clear resolution, with commissioners set to investigate the matter further and reconvene in January. 

“People of color are tired of being used as guinea pigs,” said Rodriguez. “We have to do now is put forth this ban and put some pressure on these companies, these organizations, to finally do something.”