Posted on 16 Nov 2023
There is no time to waste banning engineered stone
By Slater and Gordon
Safe Work Australia has published a damning report on the alarming rate. Silicosis is a deadly and incurable disease, in Australian workers and proposed a national ban on engineered stone.
Slater and Gordon has lent our voice to the calls for banning the deadly product, standing alongside the decision of all Australian unions to refuse to work with, import or manufacture engineered stone in Australia from 2024.
In our legal practice, we have seen increasing numbers of workers with silica-related diseases, often at the advanced and debilitating stages, caused by exposure to silica dust from engineered stone. Many of these are workers in the prime of their life, with young families, mortgages and a whole lifetime ahead of them.
“There is no cure for silicosis and silica related diseases, but they can be prevented. It has long been our firm’s position that workers will keep dying unless we ban engineered stone and stop the exposure to this deadly dust.” - Slater and Gordon Head of National Asbestos and Dust Disease,
Joanne Wade
See our silicosis clients bravely share their stories
What is silicosis?
Silicosis is a lung disease caused by inhaling unsafe levels of silica dust. Once inside the lungs, the dust particles can scar and inflame the lungs.
It is estimated up to 600,000 Australian workers are potentially being exposed to silica dust each year across a wide range of industries. If this rate of exposure is not significantly reduced, it is likely that over the course of this century we will see a terrifying increase in the number of workers contracting silicosis.
- Between 83,090 and 103,860 silicosis cases and 10,390 lung cancers are expected to result from current respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure (PDF).
Do you think you may have been exposed to silica?
Register your exposure on the national silicosis register today
Am I in danger of being exposed?
Inhaling crystalline silica dust while cutting, grinding, polishing or drilling engineered stone used for kitchen or bathroom benches can lead to silicosis. However, crystalline silica is also found in quartz, sand, stone, soil, granite, brick, cement, grout, mortar, and bitumen.
Not all of the industries that work with silica have had compulsory health monitoring introduced. That’s why, while we support a ban, we also continue to call for all workers exposed to silica dust to be given access to mandatory high-resolution CT chest scans.
Do I work with silica?
Industries that may be exposed to silica dust include:
stonemasonry
road works
tunnelling
quarries
concreting
excavating
pottery
bricklaying
tiling and any other occupation that requires cutting or drilling into concrete (such as carpentry or plumbing).
Time is running out
It’s no exaggeration to say that banning engineered stone in benchtops will help prevent the tragic deaths of many workers in this country, but we must act quickly.
Manufacturers (such as Caesarstone) consider that benchtops that contain less than 40% of silica are safe and should be exempt from a ban, despite the Safe Work Australia report saying that there is NO safe level of exposure to slica.
We consider that this stance may mirror the stance taken by James Hardie when they fought against the regulation of asbestos. Slater and Gordon played a lead role in the battle for compensation against James Hardie on behalf of many of the nation’s asbestos victims.
We won landmark cases on behalf of Wittenoom workers and workers employed on the wharfs, and we’ll continue to advocate for legal/legislative changes that improve the safety of Australian workers.
If you or someone you know has been impacted by Silicosis or a silica-related disease, you’re not alone. If you are exploring a potential claim with our team, we also offer free social work services during your claim process for additional support.
Do you think you may have been exposed to silica?
Register your exposure on the national silicosis register today
More resources
The contents of this blog post are considered accurate as at the date of publication. However the applicable laws may be subject to change, thereby affecting the accuracy of the article. The information contained in this blog post is of a general nature only and is not specific to anyone’s personal circumstances. Please seek legal advice before acting on any of the information contained in this post.
