Artificial stone and silicosis: the Korean experience.

backgroundEngineered stone (ES), also termed artificial stone, is a quartz-rich composite slab (typically 85-95% crystalline silica) used for kitchen and bathroom surfaces, and has driven a global resurgence of accelerated silicosis. Korea presents a distinctive context in which individual workers accumulated multi-era exposure across cementitious terrazzo (Dokkidashi), natural stone, polymer solid surface and high-quartz ES. We combine a narrative review of the Korean ES industry, respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure and clinical phenotype with a single-center case series.

methodsThis study reviewed Korean trade, employment, exposure-measurement, and adjudicated-case data, and conducted a retrospective case series at the Pneumoconiosis Clinic, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital (index window 1-31 March 2026). Rapid-progression cases required radiographic pneumoconiosis plus progressive massive fibrosis (PMF)/complicated disease, a forced vital capacity (FVC) decline ≥ 150 mL/year, or accelerated disease at presentation, with ≥1 year of follow-up and serial spirometry.

resultsThe only ES-specific Korean exposure dataset (Institute of Occupation and Environment, C company, 2018) showed personal quartz of 0.045-0.179 mg/m

conclusionsES exposure was superimposed on decades of prior mixed silica exposure-a difference of degree rather than of kind from series reported elsewhere, possibly reflecting the shorter latency available to younger ES-only workers. Surveillance, exposure standards and compensation criteria should address multi-era exposure rather than ES alone.