Health and Safety Executive measures to protect workers from stone dust
Dry cutting of engineered stone unacceptable and water suppression deemed mandatory.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says silicosis is a deadly-but-preventable lung disease caused by breathing in silica dust released during stone cutting.
Over the next 12 months, HSE inspectors will conduct more than 1,000 visits to fabricators across Great Britain, with enforcement action taken against those failing to meet the required standards. The first inspections are already underway.
The deaths of two young workers from silicosis in recent years prompted calls for action on engineered stone cutting from MPs, trade unions and medical professionals.
HSE says that after two years of research and industry engagement, the most effective and proportionate action is to ensure proper controls are installed and actively enforced.
Accordingly, its research found that dry fabrication typically results in exposure to respirable crystalline silica that is five-to-ten times higher than wet methods using equivalent tools. It also found that lower-content silica engineered stone is available at the same quality, removing any reason for businesses not to switch to less dangerous products.
To provide clarity to businesses and workers, HSE has published its first-ever Control of Substances Hazardous to Health guidance sheet specifically for engineered stone. The guidance sets out what employers must do: switch to engineered stone with a low-silica content; use on-tool water suppression, control mist; provide appropriate respiratory protective equipment and carry out regular health surveillance. These are legal requirements.
Mike Calcutt, Deputy Director in HSE's Engagement and Policy Division, says, 'Today’s guidance marks our most significant intervention in the engineered stone sector to date, and not without good reason.
'Silicosis is incurable, but it is entirely preventable. No worker should lose their life to a lung disease caused by their job, and that is why we have taken this action.
'We have spent the past two years conducting extensive research and industry engagement to understand the scale of this risk. What we found was stark. Many businesses are not putting the right controls in place, they are still using engineered stone with high silica content, and dry cutting, which must stop.
'To every employer in this sector: the guidance is now published, the expectations are clear, and our inspectors are coming. Those who are cutting corners are not just putting their workers at risk - they are undercutting the businesses doing things properly. We will create a level playing field.'
Engineered stone, widely used in kitchen and bathroom worktops, can contain up to 95% crystalline silica, reports the HSE.
Unlike natural stone, where silica-related disease typically takes decades to develop, recent cases have suggested that exposure to engineered stone dust can cause silicosis in a matter of months or years. Workers can suffer permanent and irreversible lung damage before experiencing any symptoms.
