Company failed to protect workers who now need lung transplants, regulators say

A Chicago countertop manufacturer failed to protect its workers from silica exposure, leaving a father and son in need of lung transplants, federal labor officials said.

Florenza Marble & Granite exposed employees to silica levels up to six times greater than permissible, leaving a 31-year worker, his 59-year-old father and a co-worker with silicosis, an incurable lung disease, the U.S. Department of Labor said Monday in a news release. 

In addition, a 47-year-old Florenza employee had been treated for unresolved work-related lung disease for more than three years, the agency stated. 

Federal inspectors in February found workers at the company laboring in a haze of dust and using required respirators improperly, with few controls to reduce silica exposure as they cut stone countertops for residential and commercial use, the Labor Department said.

Silica dust risks

A hundred times smaller than a grain of sand, silica dust can lead to lung cancer and silicosis, an irreversible scarring and stiffening of the lungs, among other conditions, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Florenza Marble and owner Brad Karp did not have a safety program to monitor its six workers. Two workers compensation insurance carriers refused to insure the company in 2022 and 2024 for not providing air sampling or proof of protections, according to the agency. 

Karp did not respond to a request for comment.

OSHA cited Florenza for 32 safety and health violations and is proposing more than $1 million in penalties. 

The two workers suffering from silicosis have limited English and did not receive any information from their employer about the dangers of silica exposure or training in the use of equipment to protect themselves, according to labor regulators.

The life expectancy for those with silicosis is reduced by about 11 years, and the chances of surviving at least 15 years after a lung transplant are less than 11%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.