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No—not as of October 8, 2026. California has not adopted a general ban on new quartz countertops or a law preventing consumers from buying them. The state is considering an occupational rule that could restrict fabrication and installation of artificial stone containing more than 1% crystalline silica. The proposal is still under discussion, so its final coverage and any effective date are not settled.
What California is considering
In May 2026, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board granted Petition 609 in part and directed Cal/OSHA to prepare an emergency rulemaking process. The board posted a discussion draft on September 16, 2026, for comment. The proposal concerns work fabricating and installing artificial stone with more than 1% crystalline silica—not a general consumer-sales ban. See the Cal/OSHA artificial stone rulemaking and advisory page and the Standards Board Petition 609 page for the official process and draft.
The draft is not a final regulation. The final text, precise scope, transition arrangements, and effective date remain unresolved. It is therefore not possible to say when a restriction might begin or exactly which products and work activities it would cover.
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There is no adopted statewide ban on buying or installing new quartz countertops as of October 8, 2026. The proposal is aimed at occupational fabrication and installation of certain high-silica artificial stone. Whether a particular product or job would fall within a final rule depends on its material composition and the final legal definitions; the draft’s eventual requirements should not be treated as settled.
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The proposal also does not announce a ban on countertops already in homes. It addresses workplace activity, not a requirement for homeowners to remove or replace existing surfaces.
What the current silica standard requires
Separate from the proposed restriction, California’s permanent general-industry silica regulation took effect February 5, 2025. Cal/OSHA identifies high-exposure trigger tasks involving artificial stone with more than 0.1% crystalline silica, including cutting, drilling, abrading, grinding, polishing, and related waste handling or cleanup. The current standard requires protections such as wet methods, safe housekeeping, limits on unsafe practices, respiratory protection, medical surveillance and removal protections, and reporting of silicosis and lung cancer. Details are in Title 8 section 5204 and Cal/OSHA’s artificial stone guidance.
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The proposed more-than-1% threshold and the current more-than-0.1% trigger are different measures in different stages of regulation. The 1% figure is part of the proposed restriction; the 0.1% figure identifies artificial stone tasks covered by enhanced protections under the existing standard. Neither figure means that every countertop above that concentration is already prohibited from sale.
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Cutting and grinding stone can generate respirable crystalline silica dust. Workers who inhale it can develop silicosis, an incurable, progressive disease that can be severe or fatal. In a December 14, 2023 release, the California Department of Industrial Relations reported 95 identified worker silicosis cases since 2019 and 10 deaths. That is a dated historical count, not a current total. California adopted emergency silica protections in December 2023 and voted in December 2024 to make protections permanent; the permanent standard took effect February 5, 2025. See the state’s silicosis and artificial stone information and December 14, 2023 release.
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What materials might be covered?
The existing Title 8 definition of “artificial stone” is broad. It includes reconstituted, artificial, synthetic, composite, engineered, or manufactured stone commonly made by combining silica-containing materials with adhesives, polymers, epoxies, resins, or other binders. Fired ceramic and porcelain tiles and panels are expressly excluded from that existing definition. The definition and any eventual rule’s wording matter: a product’s marketing name alone does not establish whether it is covered. Consult Title 8 section 5204 and check the final rule once adopted before drawing conclusions about a specific surface.
Petition 609 argues that silica-free alternatives are available in Australia and could be made available in California under a similar restriction. That is the petitioner’s claim, not confirmation of California availability for any named product or proof that alternatives share the same performance, appearance, or price.
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What homeowners should do now
- If you are planning a countertop project, ask the fabricator or installer for the product’s material and crystalline-silica composition rather than relying on a label such as “quartz” or “engineered stone.”
- If you are comparing alternatives, verify California availability, material composition, durability, maintenance needs, appearance, and installed cost directly with suppliers. The state sources do not establish a comparative consumer ranking or current prices.
- If you work with artificial stone, follow the current Cal/OSHA requirements; the proposed rule does not replace protections already in force.
- For a decision affected by the proposed restriction, check Cal/OSHA’s rulemaking page for updates to the draft, final coverage, and effective date.
SB 20, signed in October 2025, is described by the Standards Board as providing additional tools and protections for Cal/OSHA. It is distinct from Petition 609’s rulemaking and is not itself a general countertop ban. The board’s official information describes its work and related actions.
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