An emerging workplace health crisis

The problem of artificial stone silicosis has been in the news again, as more cases are being diagnosed and there are calls for some products to be banned. Mike Knight, Head of ATE Sales at ARAG, asks whether this could be the next industrial disease epidemic.

Last month the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published new guidance that has made it a legal requirement to use water to suppress the fine dust released while working with engineered stone.

This is the latest move to counter the emergence of a troubling global trend that has already seen hundreds of cases and many deaths worldwide, and the first outright ban on engineered stone, in Australia.

At least one UK supplier has voluntarily stopped offering artificial stone and some clinicians are calling for an outright ban in this country too.

An invisible killer

Artificial stone is a popular material used in making kitchen and bathroom countertops, but it contains very high levels of crystalline silica that are released in an invisible, breathable form when the product is cut or polished, either during manufacture or when being fitted, on-site.
While such products date back to the 1960s, it was not until this century that they became widely used in the UK, as a cheaper, lower-maintenance alternative to natural stone countertops cut from granite and marble.
It is only over the past few years that alarm bells have started to ring, following reports of worrying cases in other countries and the first confirmed UK cases of silicosis specifically attributed to working with artificial stone products.

Dying young

Perhaps the most troubling aspect linking many of these silicosis cases, both here in the UK and in other territories, is the relative youth of the sufferers and the speed with which the lung disease appears to progress.

The average age of 8 patients, who were all men, featured in a 2024 academic paper about the emergence of cases in the UK, was just 34. One of them had only been exposed to the dust for just four years.

A key challenge in overcoming the disease is that many of those workers who may be most at risk are either self-employed or work for small companies, where potentially expensive or time-consuming safety measures could be more easily ignored.

The old and the new

Silicosis is probably the oldest known industrial disease, dating back several millennia. While the number of UK cases had diminished in recent decade, following deindustrialisation, improved awareness and better workplace practices, this newly identified form of the disease could mark the start of a terrible resurgence.

ARAG has several business partners working with clients on a wide range of industrial disease claims and will collaborate with them to provide a route to justice for the victims of this terrible but avoidable workplace hazard.