I’m not a masonry\stonework expert. Someone more knowledgeable may correct me. This issue may be lawyer overreach and or overreacting. Worker respiratory safety gear is standard on processing engineered stone, natural stone, cement, resins, and or anything requiring grinding, polishing, even in the sandblasting business.
If OSHA is finding employers harming their employees – that is a litigious thing. If OSHA is finding a trend increase in the trades skill industry – then the entire trade (stonework) is scrutinized. If migrant workers, in the trades, are harmed more often then that is another 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 issue.
The cultured, artificial, or engineered stone product was invented so we don’t have to quarry the real thing – where silicosis risk is highest.
I’m curious why target common silicon dioxide (silica) when cheap $100 air quality monitors (including detection of static VOCs) exist that measure down to 0.3um. Wide application ranges at that low (unfilterable) range. From steam discharge monitoring, to oll vapours, to chemical fumes, to residential air quality on weather stations.