從事切割工作的人員因吸入大量灰塵而得病

從事切割工作的人員因吸入大量灰塵而得病

Rodriguez could not have anticipated that his life would be profoundly changed by kitchen and bathroom countertops.

羅德里格斯沒有預料到他的生活將被廚房和浴室的臺面深刻地改變。

He says that he grew up poor, in a small Mexican town, and came to the United States when he was 14. He spoke no English, but he immediately got a job.

他說，他在墨西哥的一個小鎮(zhèn)上貧窮地長大，14歲時來到美國。他不會說英語，但很快就找到了工作。

"In the beginning I was working in a Chinese restaurant, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It was all day, so I never had time to go to school," he recalls. "I was a dishwasher."

“剛開始的時候，我在一家中餐館工作，從上午10點到晚上10點。那是一整天，所以我從來沒有時間去上學，”他回憶道。“我是個洗碗工。”

He labored in restaurant kitchens for about eight years. But he wanted Sundays off to go to church and play soccer. So when his brother-in-law offered to help him get a new job, he jumped at the chance.

他在餐廳廚房工作了大約8年。但他希望周日可以去教堂和踢足球。所以，當他的妹夫提出幫他找一份新工作的時候，他馬上就抓住了這個機會。

That's how he ended up in a workshop that cuts and polishes slabs of an artificial stone to make kitchen and bathroom countertops.

他最后來到了一個車間，切割和拋光人造石板來制作廚房和浴室的臺面。

Back then, in 2000, the material he was cutting was also something totally different for the American countertop industry. The stuff looked a lot like natural granite. In reality, it was made in a factory, from bits of quartz bound together by a resin.

2000年的時候，他切割的材料對美國的臺面行業(yè)來說也是完全不同的東西。這種材料看起來很像天然花崗巖。實際上，它是在工廠里用樹脂粘合在一起的石英碎片制成的。

This kind of engineered stone, often marketed as simply "quartz," is now one of the most popular options for kitchen and bathrooms.

這種人造石通常被簡單地稱為“石英”，現(xiàn)在是廚房和浴室最受歡迎的選擇之一。

Health concerns emerge

健康問題出現(xiàn)

The trouble is, workers have gotten sick, and even died, after cutting this engineered stone and breathing in its dangerous dust, public health officials say.

公共衛(wèi)生官員說，問題是，工人們在切割這種經(jīng)過加工的石頭并吸入危險的灰塵后，已經(jīng)生病，甚至死亡。

Overseas, some are even calling for a ban on selling engineered quartz for countertops.

在海外，一些人甚至呼吁禁止出售人造石英臺面。

Rodriguez, 42, is the first person known to have fallen ill in the U.S. His lungs are so damaged that he is on oxygen about six hours a day. Doctors expect that he will need a lung transplant.

現(xiàn)年42歲的羅德里格斯是美國已知的第一個患病的人。他的肺部嚴重受損，每天大約需要吸氧六小時。醫(yī)生預計他需要進行肺移植。

And so far, physicians have identified at least 18 more countertop workers with silicosis in this country. They worry that more cases are out there, and more people are at risk, given that the countertop fabrication industry in the U.S. has around 100,000 workers.

到目前為止，在這個國家，醫(yī)生已經(jīng)確認至少有18個臺面工人患有矽肺。他們擔心，鑒于美國臺面制造業(yè)約有10萬名工人，會有更多的案件發(fā)生，更多人面臨風險。

"In the beginning I was angry, but I was angry with me," says Rodriguez, who sued his employer for allegedly causing his illness.

“一開始我很生氣，但我對自己很生氣，”羅德里格斯說，他起訴了他的老板，聲稱是他（老板）讓他生病的。

"When I moved from the restaurant to this company, I was getting more money. Because of that change, I ruined my life," he says. "Then I just realized that it wasn't just me. It was the whole company — that they don't protect their employees."

“當我從餐廳轉(zhuǎn)到這家公司時，我得到了更多的錢。因為這個改變，我毀了自己的生活。“然后我才意識到，不只是我這么想。而是整個公司——他們不保護員工。”

The shop where Rodriguez worked is run by Cosentino, a major player in the countertop industry.

羅德里格斯工作的那家店是由臺面行業(yè)的主要參與者科森蒂諾經(jīng)營的。

"We are extremely committed to safety and continuously strive to improve our operations," a company spokesperson told NPR. "We hope your article raises awareness in the industry to follow a proper safety culture."

“我們非常重視安全，并不斷努力改善我們的運營，”公司發(fā)言人告訴NPR。“我們希望你的文章能提高業(yè)內(nèi)人士的意識，遵循正確的安全文化。”

The dangers of dry cutting

干料切割的危險

During those early days, according to pretrial depositions from Rodriguez and company executives, cutting was done dry. That means no spray of water on the cutting blades to keep dust from flying into the air.

根據(jù)羅德里格斯和公司高管的審前證詞，在最初的日子里，切割是在干燥的環(huán)境中進行的。這意味著在切割刀片上沒有水霧來防止灰塵飛到空中。

The company later changed this practice. But for years, Rodriguez did a variety of jobs to process the slabs, surrounded by dust from his own cutting and that of his co-workers.

該公司后來改變了這一做法。但多年來，羅德里格斯做了各種各樣的工作來處理這些石板，周圍都是他自己和同事切割下來的灰塵。

"We see dust everywhere. Even on the floor, in our hair, in all our bodies, I mean everywhere," recalls Rodriguez.

“到處都是灰塵。即使是在地板上，在我們的頭發(fā)里，在我們的身體里，我指的是任何地方，”羅德里格斯回憶道。