“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.
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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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This reminded me of a guy I knew. He was the safety guy for large events such as concerts or conventions, lots of electrical work and heavy loads, hoisting and such. Said this stuff to others, but also tried to put it all on himself, sort of like you, “always come to me.” Dude made sure he was there for every important or possibly dangerous step, sometimes not very busy but then when a big event was coming up, very very busy for a few weeks. Fell asleep at the wheel. Gotta delegate.
It’s not so much of a “I’ll do it.” It’s a “get me and we’ll find a way to do it safe.”
If I have to get more PPE, if we need to change our layout, if we need to cancel parts of the show, we’ll do what we need to to make it safe.