Chicago Countertop Maker Facing $1 Million in Fines Over Workers’ Lung Disease

The U.S. Department of Labor Building in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 2020. Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

A Chicago countertop maker faces $1 million in penalties after a worker needed a double lung transplant allegedly due to illness caused by silica dust exposure, federal safety inspectors said on Monday.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) conducted an inspection and issued $1 million in penalties after finding that the company exposed its workers to silica levels up to six times greater than the permissible limits.

Safety inspectors became aware of potential violations by Florenza Marble & Granite Corp. after a 31-year-old worker needed the double lung transplant, according to a statement from the Department of Labor (DOL).

OSHA said inspectors who visited the company in February found that employees worked in a haze of dust throughout the workspace and improperly using the required respirators.

The agency also determined that the company did not have enough measures in place to reduce silica exposure as employees cut engineered and natural stone countertops for residential and commercial projects.

In addition to the double lung transplant case, the worker’s 59-year-old father and co-worker was also awaiting a silicosis-related lung transplant, according to the agency. And another 47-year-old worker had been receiving treatment for “unresolved work-related lung disease” for more than three years.

OSHA said the company’s owner, Brad Karp, did not develop a safety program to protect or monitor the health of his six employees, even though two workers’ insurance carriers refused to insure the company in 2022 and 2024 for failing to provide air sampling or prove that it had procedures in place to protect its workers.

The Epoch Times has contacted Karp for comment.

According to OSHA, the two workers suffering from silicosis have limited English proficiency and allegedly did not receive information from their employer about the dangers of silica exposure.

OSHA also accused the company of several “willful” violations, such as failing to establish a baseline of employees’ medical health to monitor silica exposure and exposing workers to unsafe levels of silica dust.

Silicosis is a lung disease caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust. There is no cure for the disease, and treatment focuses primarily on alleviating symptoms, including lung transplantation for the most severe cases.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average life expectancy for those diagnosed with silicosis is reduced by about 11 years, and the chances of surviving 15 years after a lung transplant is less than 11 percent.