Preventing Silicosis
An ancient disease in modern times: Silicosis caused by artificial stone in the United States
May 16, 2024 – All Day – UCLA
The purpose of this conference is to bring together affected workers, employers and manufacturers with researchers, unions, community-based organizations and other stakeholders to develop practical and feasible solutions to prevent silicosis caused by artificial stone.
Key Questions:
- What factors are driving the current epidemic of silicosis among artificial stone workers?
- What are the needs of affected workers, employers, and silicosis patients?
- What research gaps exist?
- What interventions are available to protect workers and prevent new silicosis cases?
Desired Outcomes: Develop a research agenda and a concrete set of recommendations that could be implemented in the California context and shared with other impacted communities.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for REHS, BCSP, BRN, and General CEUs.
- Download the Event Flyer
- Download the Event Agenda
Agenda
7:30 am – REGISTRATION CHECK-IN
8:30 am – WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
Rachael Jones, PhD, CIH
Director, UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center
Jane Fazio, MD
Clinical Instructor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UCLA
8:45 am – SILICOSIS FROM ENGINEERED STONE: BACKGROUND AND SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
Moderated by
Robert Harrison, MD, MPH
Public Health Medical Officer, Occupational Health Branch, California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
Public health surveillance:
Kristin Cummings, MD, MPH
Chief, Occupational Health Branch, CDPH
Physician and patient perspective:
Jane Fazio, MD
Clinical Instructor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, UCLA
Industry perspective:
Nate Kolenski
President, Block Tops, Inc.
Jim Hieb
Chief Executive Officer, Natural Stone Institute
Ted Sherritt
Chief Executive Officer, International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA)
10:00 am – BREAK
10:20 am – ISSUES IN SCREENING, DIAGNOSIS, AND WORKPLACE CONTROLS
Moderated by
Ximena Vergara, PhD, MPH
Chief, Hazard Evaluation System and Information Service (HESIS), Occupational Health Branch, CDPH
Medical screening, diagnosis and treatment:
Sheiphali Gandhi, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine; Occupational, Environmental, and Climate Medicine; and Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, UCSF
Exposure and control technologies:
Jenny Houlroyd, DrPH, CIH
Occupational Health Group Manager, Safety, Health, Environmental Services (SHES) at Georgia Tech
11:45 am – LUNCH AND FACILITATED BREAKOUTS
Breakout A: Screening, diagnosis and treatment
Facilitated by
Robert Harrison, MD, MPH
Public Health Medical Officer, Occupational Health Branch, CDPH
Breakout B: Implementing silica dust controls and other measures: successes, challenges, and barriers
Facilitated by
David Harrington, MPH
Cal/OSHA Consultation Service (retired)
Breakout C: Outreach, training, and support resources
Facilitated by
Kevin Riley, PhD, MPH
Director, UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program
Lisa Patrick-Mudd, MPH
Program Manager, Public Health Councils Program, LACDPH
1:30 pm – BREAKOUT REPORTS
1:45 pm – KEYNOTE: PERSPECTIVES AND LESSONS FROM AUSTRALIA
Dr. Ryan Hoy, MBBS, FRACP, Respiratory and Sleep Disorders Physician, Senior Research Fellow, Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University.
2:45 pm – BREAK
3:00 pm – SOLUTIONS FOR CALIFORNIA AND BEYOND
Moderated by
Rachael Jones, PhD, CIH
Director, UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and UCLA-UCI Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center
Role of local Public Health Departments:
Nichole Quick, MD, MPH
Deputy Director for Health Protection Bureau, LACDPH
Cal/OSHA’s emergency rulemaking:
Michael Wilson, PhD, MPH, CIH
Senior Safety Engineer, Research and Standards, Cal/OSHA
Role of industry in solutions:
Jim Hieb
Chief Executive Officer, Natural Stone Institute
Role of occupational medicine in solutions:
Robert Blink, MD, MPH
Occupational and Environmental Medicine,
Worksite Partners Medical Group, Inc.
Workforce development:
Jeremy Smith
Deputy Legislative Director, State Building Construction Trades Council
4:45 pm – SYNTHESIS OF DAY AND NEXT STEPS
Rachael Jones, PhD, CIH
Director, UCLA Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and UCLA-UCI Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center
Jane Fazio, MD
Clinical Instructor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UCLA
5:00 pm – ADJOURN
University of California, Los Angeles
Northwest Campus Auditorium
350 De Neve Drive Los Angeles, CA 90024
Attendees staying at Hotel Angeleno receive complimentary Ubers to and from anywhere on UCLA campus between 7:00am – 11:00am and 4:00pm – 8:00pm by calling the hotel front desk at (310) 476-6411 with the pickup/dropoff address.
Sunset Village Parking Structure
200 De Neve Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90024
There are two Parking Payment options:
- (Pay by Plate) Self-Service Kiosks on Level 1: Park in a ‘Pay by’ spot marked by green circular signs. Pay with at the kiosk using your license plate #, and leave receipt on dashboard.
- (Pay by Phone) Using Parkmobile App:
- When using Parkmobile, you choose how long you want to park and pay for that amount of time.
- Download the Parkmobile app at https://parkmobile.io/ and register for an account using a credit card and your license plate number.
- Once parked, open the app and key in your parking zone number (Lot SV is 2530; Disabled Placard is 2500).
- Select the amount of time you wish to park. Normal parking charges apply, with an additional $0.55 convenience fee per transaction.
- Parkmobile will send a text message 15 minutes prior to the expiration of your paid parking.
Parking is $15 for all-day and less for shorter duration.
Driving Directions From the 405 Freeway:
- From the 405 freeway, exit Sunset Boulevard EAST.
- Proceed EAST on Sunset Boulevard for approximately 1.3 miles.
- Enter campus by turning RIGHT onto Bellagio Drive.
- At the 2nd stop sign, turn LEFT onto DeNeve Drive.
- Drive downhill until you reach parking lot SV on the RIGHT.
- Enter parking lot SV by turning RIGHT.
We have a roundtrip bus scheduled from UC Irvine to the event. Contact lizdiaz@ph.ucla.edu for more details.
UCLA campus is also served by a number of public transportation options, such as Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, Culver City Bus, and Los Angeles Metro. Check Google Maps for the best option from your destination.
Please note this is a public event; photos will be taken. As a result, your likeness will likely be captured.
This event will not be recorded or livestreamed. Additionally, we ask participants not to record audio or video during the event.
Reporters and other members of the media may attend the conference. If a member of the media approaches you for an interview, do not feel any obligation to participate.
All registrants will receive a short survey about their preferences and information about the event by email. If you have additional requests or questions contact us at coeh@ph.ucla.edu.
The Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center (SCERC) designates this conference activity for a maximum of 8.0 continuing education contact hours. To receive continuing education hours, participants should claim hours based on the extent of their participation on the evaluation form that will be distributed at the end of the conference. For questions regarding continuing education hours, please contact erc@ph.ucla.edu.
- Board of Global EHS Credentialing: Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIH) may be eligible to earn up to 8.0 contact hours for this event. Visit https://gobgc.org/applicants_CIH/ for more information.
- Registered Environmental Health Specialists (REHS): REHS may be eligible to earn up to 8.0 contact hours for this event. The SCERC is an REHS Continuing Education Accrediting Agency approved by the California Department of Public Health.
- Nurses: Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #17741, for 8.0 contact hours.
- Board of Certified Safety Professionals: Certified Safety Professionals may be eligible to earn up to 0.50 points for this event. Visit https://online.fliphtml5.com/pbcyp/eprz/#p=18 for more information.
- General credits: Continuing Education Units — .8
We recognize UCLA has been in recent news for events on campus. Our event venue is significantly separated across campus from Royce Hall quad and previous protest activity, and we do not expect disruption to our conference on May 16th, but we will continue to monitor campus advisories as they evolve. For up-to-date campus safety information, visit https://bso.ucla.edu/