Cambria’s own air-monitoring records show silica levels sometimes exceeding federal limits, documents show

(InvestigateTV) — Copies of Cambria’s own air-monitoring records show tests at fabrication shops run by the nation’s largest engineered-stone slab manufacturer repeatedly recorded silica dust above federal limits. That’s despite its chief legal officer’s January testimony to Congress that its shops stay below half the legal limit. The records recently surfaced in litigation and were obtained by InvestigateTV. Dust from cutting engineered stone countertops — made from crushed quartz bound with resin and containing 90% or more crystalline silica, far higher than granite or marble — has sickened hundreds of workers around the country with silicosis, an incurable lung disease.In California alone, the state has confirmed 668 silicosis cases and 35 silicosis-related deaths among countertop workers since 2019 as of October 20, according to California Department of Public Health data. Public health experts say cases are undercounted nationally.Cambria, headquartered in Minnesota, has repeatedl