The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) cited and fined A+ Marble & Granite LLC in July after inspectors found the company had done little to fix safety problems it had been cited for in April 2022.

Crystalline silica is a common mineral found in construction materials such as sand, stone, quartz, marble and granite. When workers cut, grind, drill, or crush materials that contain crystalline silica, it creates very small dust particles that can travel deep into workers’ lungs and cause deadly health problems including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and kidney disease.

During three site visits by L&I in Feb. and March 2024, the owner of A+ Marble & Granite was uncooperative at every turn. So inspectors got a warrant from Skagit County Superior Court allowing them to enter the business to conduct sampling of silica levels.

“It shouldn’t take a judge and a court order to get a business to follow the rules,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. “We’ll do whatever is needed to ensure workers are protected.”

No changes made to protect workers
The owner admitted to inspectors that no changes had been made to correct the violations found in the 2022 inspection. L&I photographed workers using the same polishing equipment and process as before, leading to silica overexposure.

When an employer fails to fix an issue from a previous citation, its called a ‘failure to abate,’ and they can be cited and fined for it. At A+ Marble & Granite, L&I found 10 instances of failure to abate existing issues, along with more than a dozen serious and repeat violations. A violation is classified as serious when it is likely to result in the injury or death of a worker.

As a result, inspectors fined the company $329,880. The company has filed an appeal.