The short answer: a finished quartz countertop in your kitchen is not a silica hazard in normal use. The danger is to the workers who cut, grind and polish engineered stone without proper dust control, and that is why quartz has been in the news. TopStone Granite fabricates and installs quartz, granite and other stone countertops in Baltimore, so this is an issue we deal with every working day.
We have 15+ years in the trade and more than 650 completed jobs, and we are licensed and insured under MHIC #145977. This guide sticks to what health and safety agencies have published, explains what it means for your home and lists the questions worth asking any fabricator.
Quartz countertops are engineered stone: crushed quartz bound together with resin and pigments. According to the OSHA and NIOSH hazard alert, engineered stone can contain more than 90 percent crystalline silica, a higher share than most natural stones.
When the stone is cut, ground or polished, it releases very fine silica dust that can be breathed deep into the lungs. Repeated exposure can cause silicosis, a lung disease with no cure, and health agencies have reported severe cases among relatively young countertop fabrication workers.
Three developments put the issue in the headlines:
The hazard every agency describes comes from airborne dust created when stone is machined. A countertop sitting on your cabinets does not shed that dust when you cook, chop on a cutting board, wipe it down or set things on it.
That is why the warnings are written for employers and workers, not for homeowners. The silica in a finished quartz top is locked into a solid slab.
There are two situations where homeowners should be careful:
Silica is not unique to quartz. Granite contains varying amounts, and the hazard alert notes that some natural quartzite exceeds 90 percent, so the same precautions apply to cutting any stone.
OSHA has two respirable crystalline silica standards: 29 CFR 1910.1053 for general industry, which covers fabrication shops, and 29 CFR 1926.1153 for construction work such as on-site installation. Both set a permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air averaged over an 8-hour shift, with an action level of 25.
The 2026 hazard alert walks employers through the controls that keep exposure down:
At TopStone, we follow OSHA's respirable crystalline silica standard when we cut and finish stone. You can read more about our licensing and how we work on our about page, and OSHA's silica overview has the full regulatory detail.
If you would rather choose a surface that is safer for the people who fabricate it, you have options. Each comes with trade-offs, and one popular stone is not the alternative people assume: natural quartzite can carry as much silica as engineered quartz.
Several manufacturers now sell engineered surfaces with reduced or near-zero crystalline silica, such as Silestone's HybriQ+ lines and Caesarstone's ICON line. They aim for the look and low upkeep of quartz.
The trade-offs are a narrower color range than standard quartz and less of a track record. Ask us which low-silica products we can source.
Granite is natural stone with a silica content that varies by slab and is generally lower than engineered quartz. It handles heat well but needs periodic sealing.
See our granite countertops page for colors and care.
Marble is a calcium-based stone with little or no crystalline silica. The trade-off is that it is softer and etches when acids like lemon juice or vinegar sit on it.
Our marble countertops page explains how to live with that patina.
Wood countertops contain no silica at all and are warm, quiet and easy to refinish. They need regular oiling and careful use around the sink.
Learn more on our butcher block countertops page.
Quartz is still sold and installed across the United States, including Maryland. What has changed is regulation in some places and how manufacturers are responding.
So when people ask what is replacing quartz, the honest answer is a mix: low-silica engineered surfaces, natural stones such as granite and marble, and other materials. For a head-to-head comparison of the two most popular choices, read our guide to granite vs. quartz, and for the full quartz picture, visit our quartz countertops page.
Whatever material you choose, a fabricator should be comfortable answering these:
No, not in normal use. Silica dust is released when stone is cut, ground, drilled or polished. Cooking, cleaning and everyday wear on a finished countertop do not create that dust.
For homeowners, both are safe once installed. For the workers who cut them, granite generally contains less crystalline silica than engineered quartz, though it still requires the same dust controls. The difference matters most at the fabrication stage.
There is no health reason to remove quartz that is already installed. Tearing it out creates dust of its own. If you are renovating anyway, low-silica surfaces and natural stone are worth comparing.
Call or email us to compare quartz, low-silica surfaces and natural stone for your kitchen. Ask us which products we can source and how we handle cutting on your job.
Call (667) 400-3297