To strengthen its efforts, the NSI is engaging an independent industrial hygiene expert to provide scientific review, regulatory guidance and technical expertise.
The International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA) presented a shop licensing and certification program to California workplace safety regulators, positioning the industry-led proposal as a practical alternative to a physician-backed petition calling for an outright ban on engineered stone fabrication in the state.
The legislation, authored by State Senator Caroline Menjivar, D-San Fernando Valley, is a direct response to what public health officials have called an epidemic of accelerated silicosis among engineered stone countertop workers in California.
California's Silicosis Training, Outreach and Prevention (STOP) Act, the most aggressive state-level regulation targeting silica exposure in the stone countertop fabrication industry, took full effect on January 1, 2026, after Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law on October 13, 2025.