Finch has recently posted regarding the accelerated silicosis among tradesmen working with engineered (artificial) engineered stone, in widespread use as kitchen worktops. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has announced that it will not be following Australia and banning the use the material as it considers such a ban unnecessary.
Posted
03.09.2024
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Engineered (artificial) stone has a very high silica content and when it is cut, drilled and polished, it can release high dust levels resulting in the inhalation of silica. Silica has long been known to cause silicosis, which is a fibrosis of the lungs that can progress and result in death.
The first cases in the UK are now numbering at least 11 and the CEO of The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS, the Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection) says, “This cluster of workers who are young when disabling illness hits are the tip of the iceberg”.
In recent years, silica has been scheduled as a carcinogen, i.e., has the potential to cause lung cancer. In the UK, the designation of silica dust as a potential carcinogen means that exposure must be kept as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP). As such, if the material is not removed from use, workers undertaking work on engineered stone that could release dust must be protected by means such as dust suppression with water and local exhaust ventilation (LEV).
In addition to the HSE, the BOHS does not support a ban on the manufacture and use of engineered stone but wants to raise awareness amongst workers in kitchen materials fabrication and installation that they run high risk of serious long-term health issues when using engineered stone as well as natural stone, wood and laminate.
