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Slippery Rock Gazette
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Beachcombers Beware
When you think of Florida, some of the first things to come to mind are its great weather, strong economy, and masses of retirees.
But what might not be your first thought is the copious amounts of drugs washing up on the state’s beaches.
One Monday in August, around $1 million worth of cocaine — 25 packages at roughly 70 pounds each — was discovered at a beach in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Debby swept through the region.
Earlier this summer, boaters found another 65 pounds of cocaine floating in the ocean near the Florida Keys, and divers came across 25 kilograms of cocaine roughly 100 feet underwater off Key West.
And that’s far from the end of it. Around 67 pounds of cocaine was seized after washing up on a beach in Volusia County in October 2023.
Even drugs like marijuana have washed ashore in vast volumes at places like Neptune Beach and Palm Beach. (All you NY tourists note: recreational use in Florida is still illegal.)
Please turn to page 19
training and compliance with Cal/OSHA reg- ulations could obtain slab material.
While the bill had passed the California lower house, it faced opposition in the state senate because it lacked a clear plan for which state agency would administer and enforce the licensure. The bill also did not fully account for implementation/enforcement costs, which became problematic given California’s signif- icant budget deficit.
Multiple industry leaders, including the Natural Stone Institute, participated in discus- sions with the bill’s author. It was hoped that NSI’s Silica & Slab Safety Certificate would be utilized as the framework for the training element of the licensure program.
Jim Hieb of NSI shared: “Given the com- plexity of the California supply chain, with slab sales being made to a variety of out- lets (including homeowners, designers, gen- eral contractors, and stone companies), many stakeholders believed the introduction of a licensure program would curb the level of sili- cosis cases in the state. As it is unclear if sim- ilar legislation will be introduced in the future, the industry will continue its work with Cal/ OSHA on desired amendments to provide some regulatory relief to fabricators impacted by the emergency temporary standard (ETS). While the ETS is set to expire in December 2024, Cal/OSHA has proposed permanent sil- ica standards with similar requirements as the ETS.”
To stay current on silica related topics, visit www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/silica.
Silica Legislation Update
California Fabricator Licensure of Silicosis Legislation Withdrawn
INearly July, the proposed legisla- tion introduced by Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-San Fernando Valley) to the California state legislature was withdrawn. This legislation would have required all stone fabricators to obtain a license, while also plac- ing restrictions on the sale of slab material only to licensed fabricators and/or to custom- ers with a verified licensed fabricator involved in the project. Components of the legislation would have also outlawed the use of dry cut- ting methods. In short, the legislation aimed to
Se3t of
fabrication shops that demonstrated employee
control the supply chain to the point that only