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California workers who cut countertops are dying of an incurable disease (www.latimes.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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“Nobody uses water,” one man in a Dodgers cap said in Spanish when Maria Cabrera approached, holding flyers about silicosis, an incurable and suffocating disease that has devastated dozens of workers across the state and killed men who have barely reached middle age.

...

The disease dates back centuries, but researchers say the booming popularity of countertops made of engineered stone, which has much higher concentrations of silica than many kinds of natural stone, has driven a new epidemic of an accelerated form of the suffocating illness. As the dangerous dust builds up and scars the lungs, the disease can leave workers short of breath, weakened and ultimately suffering from lung failure.

“You can get a transplant,” Cabrera told the man in Spanish, “but it won’t last.”

In California, it has begun to debilitate young workers, largely Latino immigrants who cut and polish slabs of engineered stone. Instead of cropping up in people in their 60s or 70s after decades of exposure, it is now afflicting men in their 20s, 30s or 40s, said Dr. Jane Fazio, a pulmonary critical care physician who became alarmed by cases she saw at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center. Some California patients have died in their 30s.

...

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[–] [email protected] 221 points 1 year ago (14 children)

There are a lot of workers in different industries that are at risk of silicosis and don't know it. The mentality of "it's just dust, don't be afraid to get a little dirty" will end up killing people.

[–] [email protected] 143 points 1 year ago (11 children)

You're absolutely right, all this old timer "Kids these days are so soft..." B. S. When in reality the young just don't wanna die or be maimed at 30.

Take care of your bodies, kids, it's the only one you get. Don't let corporations run you into the ground and then throw you in the trash. We need to demand better working conditions from our bosses and our elected officials.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (6 children)

"The only one looking out for #1 is you." - My section chief when I was in the Army.

I'll never forget it and I pass it on every chance I get. I've gone as far as shaming some people into wearing knee braces and the like because "what the fuck are you doing, you're gonna fuck it up even worse"

I try anyways... doesn't always work...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I just spent some time in an area with lots of cows... I ended up looking out for #2 a lot.

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