Immigrant workers paying high price for the popularity of quartz countertops

Engineered stone, or quartz, is the most popular countertop material in the country. But it is causing an epidemic of silicosis, a fatal lung disease among workers who grind and polish the stone. In California, nearly all the victims are Latin American immigrants. KQED’s labor reporter Farida Jhabvala Romero says the state has imposed emergency safety measures to protect workers but smaller shops can skirt around them. 

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