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Not long ago, we had our countertop replaced (from quartz to granite). They ended up having to make a cut in it while it was sitting in our kitchen. Our home wa

Not long ago, we had our countertop replaced (from quartz to granite). They ended up having to make a cut in it while it was sitting in our kitchen. Our home was in a cloud of dust for several hours, and when the dust finally settled a day later, every surface imaginable was covered in dust. I’m pretty sure none of them wore masks when doing this. I honestly didn’t think to wear a mask either (since they weren’t and never really even warned us how bad it would be), but fortunately we were behind closed doors most of the time the particles were in the air. Fortunately it was a granite countertop and not quartz. But I still can’t imagine that stuff is good to breathe on a recurring basis, and it still amazes me that they were fairly casual about the whole thing. My guess is the industry just isn’t educating workers about the risks.

jiveturkey 3y ago
surprised they cut it dry. i just had to add 2 holes to my granite countertop. used a “well” guide that also has water in it. it’s meant to keep the cutting edge cool but also there was no dust to speak of
nemo44x 3y ago
Don't worry about it. You were exposed to a very small amount a single time. It's the repeated exposure day after day that kills people. Saying that, yeah it's not nice. But the single exposure to dust isn't going to hurt you.
kwhitefoot 3y ago
> My guess is the industry just isn’t educating workers about the risks. The problem is not lack of education but lack of enforcement of regulations.
mabbo 3y ago
> My guess is the industry just isn’t educating workers about the risks. My guess is that the companies that did were undercut by the ones that didn't.
gpderetta 3y ago
> Fortunately it was a granite countertop and not quartz A relative of mine died of silicosis after having worked for years in the granite industry. Granite is probably as bad without adequate protection.
- jader201 3y ago
  I’m sure it’s not “good”, but from my limited understanding, it’s not equivalent to risks of quartz. This article [1] indicates quartz contains about 2x silica vs. granite. [1] https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2019/10/29/silicosis-countertop/ https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2019/10/29/silicosi...
trobertson 3y ago
> Fortunately it was a granite countertop and not quartz. Granites are primarily composed of feldspar and quartz, which are both primarily composed of silica. Silica is the thing that causes silicosis, and when that granite was cut it was clouds of silica dust that covered your home. You were no more safe in that granite dust than you would have been in quartz dust.
- jader201 3y ago
  Do you have a source? Everything I’m reading [1] says that granite contains 10-45% silica, compared to quartz containing 90%+. [1] https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA3768.pdf https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA37...
  - thehappypm 3y ago
    Those are pretty much equivalent health-wise. The poison cloud is half as dense, but still a poison cloud.
    - jader201 3y ago
      Not sure I agree/understand, but it seems like if I’m inhaling 2x the poison over the same amount of time, that has exactly 2x the impact/risk on your health. This isn’t the same as something like a virus, where it’s more binary. To be clear, I’m not arguing to prove I’m right (because I’m certainly not an expert and am open to being wrong), I’m trying to understand more about how particle inhalation can have varying risks (or not) based on density.
      - mhb 3y ago
        TFA article says the stuff gets in your lungs and stays there. Are you trying to figure out whether you should wear protection for x% silica containing materials? Seems like a fool's errand.
        3y ago
rightbyte 3y ago
When I do sand blasting a have a little box I do it in. With windows. I wonder why they don't have such an arrangement for the bench cutting. No matter the health hazard, it doesn't sound economical to cover a whole kitchen in dust for a two feet cut.
- giarc 3y ago
  I bet there is a product that could be used, however I'm sure the installers think it's "just one more thing to carry around" when the faucet hole cut only takes a few minutes.
  - rightbyte 3y ago
    Sure, but is only more work to carry around the cover-thing, if you don't have to clean up the mess. I quick search on Amazon for "Stone Cutting Dust Cover" gave plenty of cheap looking clear plastics covers with a hole for a vacuum cleaner. I bet there are pro variants available of those.

jiveturkey 3y ago

surprised they cut it dry. i just had to add 2 holes to my granite countertop. used a “well” guide that also has water in it. it’s meant to keep the cutting edge cool but also there was no dust to speak of

nemo44x 3y ago

Don't worry about it. You were exposed to a very small amount a single time. It's the repeated exposure day after day that kills people. Saying that, yeah it's not nice. But the single exposure to dust isn't going to hurt you.

kwhitefoot 3y ago

> My guess is the industry just isn’t educating workers about the risks. The problem is not lack of education but lack of enforcement of regulations.

mabbo 3y ago

> My guess is the industry just isn’t educating workers about the risks. My guess is that the companies that did were undercut by the ones that didn't.

gpderetta 3y ago

> Fortunately it was a granite countertop and not quartz A relative of mine died of silicosis after having worked for years in the granite industry. Granite is probably as bad without adequate protection.

jader201 3y ago
I’m sure it’s not “good”, but from my limited understanding, it’s not equivalent to risks of quartz. This article [1] indicates quartz contains about 2x silica vs. granite. [1] https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2019/10/29/silicosis-countertop/ https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2019/10/29/silicosi...

trobertson 3y ago

> Fortunately it was a granite countertop and not quartz. Granites are primarily composed of feldspar and quartz, which are both primarily composed of silica. Silica is the thing that causes silicosis, and when that granite was cut it was clouds of silica dust that covered your home. You were no more safe in that granite dust than you would have been in quartz dust.

jader201 3y ago
Do you have a source? Everything I’m reading [1] says that granite contains 10-45% silica, compared to quartz containing 90%+. [1] https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA3768.pdf https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA37...
- thehappypm 3y ago
  Those are pretty much equivalent health-wise. The poison cloud is half as dense, but still a poison cloud.
  - jader201 3y ago
    Not sure I agree/understand, but it seems like if I’m inhaling 2x the poison over the same amount of time, that has exactly 2x the impact/risk on your health. This isn’t the same as something like a virus, where it’s more binary. To be clear, I’m not arguing to prove I’m right (because I’m certainly not an expert and am open to being wrong), I’m trying to understand more about how particle inhalation can have varying risks (or not) based on density.
    - mhb 3y ago
      TFA article says the stuff gets in your lungs and stays there. Are you trying to figure out whether you should wear protection for x% silica containing materials? Seems like a fool's errand.
      - 3y ago

rightbyte 3y ago

When I do sand blasting a have a little box I do it in. With windows. I wonder why they don't have such an arrangement for the bench cutting. No matter the health hazard, it doesn't sound economical to cover a whole kitchen in dust for a two feet cut.

giarc 3y ago
I bet there is a product that could be used, however I'm sure the installers think it's "just one more thing to carry around" when the faucet hole cut only takes a few minutes.
- rightbyte 3y ago
  Sure, but is only more work to carry around the cover-thing, if you don't have to clean up the mess. I quick search on Amazon for "Stone Cutting Dust Cover" gave plenty of cheap looking clear plastics covers with a hole for a vacuum cleaner. I bet there are pro variants available of those.