Quartz countertops.
If you are planning a remodel with quartz countertops, the material is under more regulatory scrutiny than at any time since it became one of the most popular choices for American kitchens. California regulators are drafting rules that would stop most engineered stone from being cut in the state. The reason, a lung disease called silicosis, affects the workers who fabricate the slabs rather than the people who live with them.
Australia and New Zealand have already faced the same question and answered it differently. Their experience is a practical guide to what may change for U.S. buyers and what to ask before you sign off on a countertop order.
Australia banned the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs from July 1, 2024. (Benchtop is the Australian and New Zealand word for countertop.) Its rules define engineered stone as an artificial product containing at least 1 percent crystalline silica, and they exclude natural stone, as well as porcelain and sintered stone products that contain no resin. Regulators can also exempt a specific product if there is evidence it can be worked safely.
New Zealand has not banned it. The government consulted on options ranging from tighter workplace controls to a full ban, with consultation closing in March 2025, and WorkSafe New Zealand lowered the workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica to 0.025 milligrams per cubic meter in November 2023, half the federal OSHA limit.
That leaves New Zealand homeowners in much the same position as Americans outside California: the material is legal, so the choice of surface is still made project by project. Someone comparing stone benchtops for a kitchen renovation in Auckland or Christchurch is weighing the same trade-offs between engineered stone, natural stone and porcelain that an American buyer faces.
In May 2026, California's Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board granted, in part, Petition 609, which asked the state to prohibit fabrication and installation of engineered stone containing more than 1 percent crystalline silica. The board asked Cal/OSHA to begin emergency rulemaking.
Cal/OSHA held an advisory meeting on July 31 and on September 16 posted a discussion draft of the proposed rule, with comments due by September 30. The draft would prohibit the fabrication and manufacture of artificial stone above the 1 percent threshold. No rule has been adopted yet, so the restriction is not in force. The stages are worth keeping straight: the petition asked for a ban, the discussion draft sets out proposed wording, and only an adopted regulation would carry legal force.
The case for the rule is documented in a report by California Department of Public Health researchers and colleagues, published in NEJM Evidence in August 2026. It counted 592 cases of silicosis among California engineered stone fabrication workers between January 2019 and June 2026, including 65 who needed lung transplants and 31 who died.
Conventional engineered stone is made from crushed quartz bound with resin, and WorkSafe New Zealand notes it can contain more than 90 percent crystalline silica, compared with under 45 percent for granite. Formulations vary, though. Manufacturers now sell lower-silica products and surfaces made with amorphous silica, which the NEJM Evidence report describes as carrying a substantially lower risk. If a showroom describes a slab as low silica, ask for the figure in writing rather than relying on the label.
The danger comes from the fine dust released when slabs are cut, ground or polished. The California report also notes that workers continue to be exposed to hazardous levels despite existing dust-control requirements, which is why regulators have moved toward limiting the material itself.
An installed countertop that is left alone does not expose a household to silica dust through normal cooking and cleaning. Australian regulators treat installed engineered stone as safe while it remains undisturbed.
The exposure returns whenever the stone is cut or broken again. Australia requires work that repairs, modifies or removes existing engineered stone to be controlled, and in many cases notified to the regulator first. That is a useful benchmark for an American remodel, where tearing out old quartz, cutting a new sink opening or trimming a slab on site are all dust-generating jobs. Repairing a chipped or cracked countertop by grinding or cutting falls into the same category.
A reputable fabricator should be able to answer each of these directly, and most suppliers can provide a safety data sheet on request. The questions are the same whether the order goes through a big-box store in Ohio or a New Zealand kitchen company like Cabjaks.
Natural quartzite, which is easily confused with quartz, is a quarried stone that is also high in crystalline silica. Natural granite has a long track record but still contains crystalline silica and needs careful fabrication. Porcelain and sintered slabs are thin and heat-resistant and can chip at the edges if struck, so the edge profile matters. They are not silica-free either, and Australia still requires their processing to be controlled.
Solid surface, laminate, butcher block and stainless steel avoid crushed quartz altogether, each with its own trade-offs. Laminate is the least expensive but can be marked by hot pans, butcher block needs regular oiling, and solid surface can usually have light scratches sanded out.
Prices vary widely by material and region, and some alternatives cost more to fabricate. If California adopts its rule, local supply and pricing could shift while fabricators adjust. Pricing at least two materials, and asking which surfaces a shop cuts most often, gives you a realistic comparison before you commit.
