General Shale Brick Inc., Watsontown: OSHA silica citation
For exposing workers to silica dust, General Shale Brick Inc. in Watsontown, Pennsylvania received an OSHA citation. On August 26, 2026, the Labor Department made the citation public.
What inspectors found at the whole workplace goes in the citation; your own health and work there decide whether you can claim.
- Penalty proposed, every hazard
- $496,528
- Citation violations, every hazard
- Willful: 3. Repeat: 1. Serious: 4. Other-than-serious: 1.
- Announced
- August 26, 2026
- Citation issued by
- OSHA
- Where
- Watsontown, Pennsylvania
- Line of work
- Manufacturer of brick
Worked here? Talk to a lawyer for free: (844) 387-9991
Inspection reason: The inspection used the Site-Specific Targeting plan and the silica national emphasis program, and it also reviewed the company's records of injuries and illnesses.
Silica dust: the findings
- Molded brick comes from Plant 3, and the workers there breathed silica dust above safe limits.
- The overexposure was known to the company, yet it did not fix the problem or require respirators.
- The company set up no regulated areas, and it did not check exposure levels for every silica-related job.
- Required medical exams and yearly respirator fit tests were missing for anyone exposed over 30 days a year.
More hazards in this citation
- The company had been cited before at its Augusta, Georgia site for missing respirator fit tests, which is why a repeat violation was added.
The employer's time to answer the citation: The citations gave the company 15 working days after it received them. It could comply, ask OSHA's area director for an informal conference, or take the dispute to the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Were you a General Shale Brick worker?
The dust is part of daily work at brick and clay plants, because they grind and fire silica-rich materials. If your job was at General Shale Brick in Watsontown, workers' comp is usually where a silicosis claim starts, and a lawyer can look into whether others share the blame.
Two ways to claim in Pennsylvania
Workers' comp claims in Pennsylvania
The Bureau of Workers' Compensation, Department of Labor and Industry is where you file a workers' comp claim in Pennsylvania (official site).
A lawsuit against the manufacturers
A suit aimed at whoever made the stone or the equipment counts as a different claim, with a deadline all its own. How silicosis lawsuits work
Free claim review by phone
Official source: news release 26-1308-PHI from the U.S. Department of Labor. Labor Department news releases are the basis for these records, which get updated monthly.