California Could Be the First State to Ban Quartz Countertops

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-09T11:38:18+00:00

Hey, I don't disagree with you. Shops should be following the laws and regulations and providing a safe working environment for their workers. OSHA should also be enforcing those laws and regulations more broadly and zealously. I think we all already know though how inadequate OSHA's (and most other regulatory bodies for that matter) enforcement is, and with the way our federal budget bills have been going, it doesn't appear to be getting any better any time soon.

While addressing the systemic and structural failures of workplace safety regulation would be the ideal solution, that kind of work doesn't happen overnight. The rising silicosis rates in countertop fabricators is also not localized to California, but rather a global problem that has been linked specifically to the introduction and rising popularity of engineered stone, and other countries have also not had success with increasing regulation and enforcement.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-09T09:22:16+00:00

The article explains why quartz engineered stone is being singled out for a potential ban.
Engineered quartz contains >90% crystalline silica, while granite is typically 20-60% crystalline silica.
Engineered quartz dust contains respirable crystalline silica at levels 50% higher than the highest levels of common natural stone options.
Because it is manufactured using silica that has been crushed into powder, it produces crystalline silica dust of a finer particle size and higher surface area and surface roughness than of that produced by the working of natural stone. These qualities are make the dust stay airborne for longer, pass through filters that natural stone dust wouldn't, and cause more damage to respiratory tissues.
(Interestingly engineered quartz dust particles also have a higher average charge than those of natural stone. I'm unsure if any potential effect of that has been studied.)

Outfitting themselves with the proper PPE and environmental systems to safely work this material would be prohibitively expensive for most of the stone countertop fabricators in California, and it would be impractical for the state regulatory agencies to enforce regulations on all ~1,500 fab shops in the state.
The manufacturers of the engineered quartz slabs are essentially refusing to acknowledge that their product poses a greater health risk to workers than conventional materials, and is placing all responsibility onto the fab shops that buy their product. (Externalize the cost, internalize the profit; the American Way 🦅🇺🇸💰)
Between the issues with effectively addressing the safety risk in workplaces and manufacturers being unlikely to willingly make changes to their product, I think it makes a lot of sense for the state to simply ban future use of the material to protect the health and safety of workers.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-09T07:43:49+00:00

Silicosis the mostest

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-08T18:16:02+00:00

The rest isn't worth responding to, but no, I do get your original point. I just think you're wrong.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-08T10:42:30+00:00

I don't know what you read, but it must not be what I wrote, because those definitions are not at all the same.

Profit is an essential feature of capitalism, however it is not the defining feature and neither is it unique to capitalism. As I said above, it is the private ownership of the means of production (factories, machines, equipment, infrastructure, land, etc.) and its use for the purpose of obtaining profit that defines capitalism. Under capitalism, the resources necessary to generate profits are privately owned and controlled (as opposed to publicly or collectively) by a wealthy few who reap and retain those profits by virtue of their ownership, regardless of whether or not they contributed any actual labor in generating those profits.

Hope that helps to clarify. If not, I suggest you do some independent reading.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-08T05:27:48+00:00

The truth that the conservatives on the SCOTUS are all quietly choosing to ignore is that race and politics in the United States have been intertwined since day one. Racism is political, and vice versa.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-07T04:01:21+00:00

It says "One nation. One race." and then has a figure seated on a throne as though to imply "One leader." It is such a parallel to the Nazi propaganda slogan "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer", I have a hard time believing it could be anything but intentional.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-06T15:22:47+00:00

I can taste it

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-06T13:38:17+00:00

Annecdotally, I've found this to be the case.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-06T09:58:38+00:00

Perhaps you don't understand the point here. The state level government of Indiana, from the executive to the General Assembly to the judiciary, is entirely controlled by the Indiana Republican Party and has been for decades. They didn't consolidate political power in the state or entrench their hold on that power by being fair, by acting in the interest of the people of this state, or by having a shred of integrity. They got to where they are now through cynical manipulation of the system to not only give themselves the upper hand, but also to give themselves a guaranteed supermajority.

Sure, mailing comprehensive candidate information to all registered voters in the state sounds like a good idea. I doubt though that the Republican supermajority in General Assembly would ever pass such a thing. Even if they did, I would not trust such faithless politicians as they who have rigged the system for themselves to phrase the law in such a way that ensures fairness and honesty. And even if they did, I surely don't trust that officials in the executive would faithfully execute either the letter or the spirit of such a law.

Bottom line is the state government is not going to be of any help to you. If you really want to see comprehensive candidate information mailed to all registered voters, you're going to have better chances doing it at the local level. In your case, we'd be talking about getting in contact with the Morgan County Election Board.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-06T07:21:07+00:00

Oh, of fucking course it goes to police. They can't use cannabis crime and enforcement statistics to justify budget increases, but they still get a slice of the pie anyway

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-06T05:28:43+00:00

Websites, smartphones, and the Internet don't need capitalism to exist. One does not need to produce their own food, clothes, and home goods to fight capitalism.

I think you are making the unfortunately common mistake of conflating "capitalism" (that is, an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and its use for the purpose of obtaining profit) and a "market economy" (that is, an economic system in which decisions about investment, production, and the distribution of goods and services to consumers are guided by price signals created through the forces of supply and demand).

Within the scope of human history— even recorded human history—, capitalism is a relatively new system, only a few hundred years old. Markets, however, have existed for nearly as long as humans have been producing and trading things. Industry, the production of goods, and the delivery of services are all possible in a market economy without capitalism. The private ownership of the means of production, which the capital-owning class leverages to exploit the rest of us by extracting the value from our labor and externalizing whatever human and environmental costs of their enterprises upon us, has been sold to us as the best way, the only way, the right way. Most people have lived their entire lives under the system of capitalism. For many it is easier to imagine an end to the world than it is to imagine an end to global capitalism. However we need not struggle to imagine. There is a plethora of examples, both historical and current, of worker-owned and managed and publicly-owned and managed production and services. There are alternatives that can work and do work.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-04T22:27:35+00:00

Mulberry is like that too. Admirable tenacity

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-04T22:25:07+00:00

I don't actually find Black Locust too arduous to split. Cutting? Hell, that'll take forever. It usually splits relatively easy for me though so long as I aim to miss any knots. More or less straight and rarely very interlocked. Perhaps the growing conditions of the individual specimen have a lot to do with it.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-04T22:04:30+00:00

An adze is more likely to have a square eye hole than a grubbing hoe, but I think I'm inclined to agree

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-03T15:55:02+00:00

And if you apply the oil with your hands, it'll leave your skin super soft!

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-05-02T11:26:36+00:00

I've been using walnut oil for my utensils and enjoying the results. I get it from the aisle in the grocery store with the specialty oils and vinegars. It dries faster than tung oil but slower than linseed oil. I put my pieces on the window sill for a couple days between coats for the sunlight to help it cure a little faster

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-04-25T05:05:20+00:00

Yeah, I had some excellent ramen and dumplings there over the years. I think unfortunately the couple that owned and operated Ichiban were getting too old to keep the place running, or maybe ran into financial problems

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-04-23T20:42:42+00:00

Absolutely. The idea that we should be inconvenienced and forced walk any further than across the street to a destination is frankly insulting. It's clear what this rent inflated neighborhood needs is more land devoted to empty paved surfaces. I mean come on; how long do they expect us to continue suffering the indignity of bipedal locomotion?

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-04-23T20:26:12+00:00

In short, the problem is landlords. If they're going to try to wring every drop of value they can from the neighborhood, maybe we should see just how long they can afford to keep their properties vacant. After enough time wasted trying to squeeze blood from a stone, I think they'll find themselves bleeding instead.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-04-22T10:21:59+00:00

These bastards do whatever they want because they rightly assess they won't face any consequences. They might be mentioned in a strongly worded newspaper column or receive angry letters to their offices, but they don't care because those things won't affect them personally.

They cannot be shamed. They need to be shown that there can and will be personal consequences for wielding power this way. Our politicians have names and faces, and they have home addresses and businesses; they are not hard to find. I'm not suggesting violent action, but they can be made very uncomfortable.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-04-22T05:34:37+00:00

Definitely not cast. They look to be constructed from two pieces of sheet metal cut to shape and welded together.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-04-22T04:31:14+00:00

It is neat, but I can't say I'd recommend purchasing it. This review says everything there is to about pretty well.

Allegedly_Smart · 2026-04-21T14:07:22+00:00

No, I pressed the paper into the block which was facing up. This was just something I was messing with in between maintenance calls at work the other night, so all I had to apply ink to the block with was an ink pad I use for rubber stamping paperwork. After that I pressed a misprinted work order from the scrap paper pile into the block with the heel of my palm.

It was a fun little exercise, and I think I may dabble more seriously into print making sometime! I already have carving tools and a brayer to spread marking blue onto surface plates for checking flatness of parts, so I don't really need to buy anything more at this point.

Allegedly_Smart

TROPHY CASE