On Feb. 18, OSHA and NIOSH issued a joint hazard alert on protecting workers from significant crystalline silica exposure during the manufacture, finishing, and installation of stone countertops. The agencies have identified exposure to silica as a health hazard to workers involved in stone countertop operations, including fabrication shops and in-home work. The hazard alert lists job tasks such as cutting, grinding, chipping, sanding, drilling, and polishing natural and manufactured stone products as activities that can release hazardous levels of crystalline silica dust particles into the air, potentially exposing employees working near the dust-generating operations in addition to those performing the tasks. This alert comes soon after reports of 46 workers in Spain and 25 in Israel who developed silicosis as a result of exposure to crystalline silica in their work manufacturing stone countertops.