Originally published by the Australian Institute of Health & Safety
With the landmark ban on engineered stone coming into effect, Safe Work Australia has issued a warning about the harmful and significant costs of exposure to respirable crystalline silica generated when engineered stone is processed with power tools.
Under the ban, which came into effect on 1 July 2024, the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs is prohibited in every state and territory in Australia.
The ban does not apply to the controlled processing of previously installed engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs for removal, repair or minor modification, or the controlled processing of installed or uninstalled engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs for disposal.
Each jurisdiction has implemented the engineered stone ban in their respective work health and safety (WHS) laws based on amendments to the model WHS Regulations published by Safe Work Australia.
A summary of how the ban will be implemented in each state and territory is available on Safe Work Australia’s engineered stone ban website.
“The ban will protect workers from exposure to respirable crystalline silica that can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause irreversible lung damage,” said Marie Boland, Safe Work Australia CEO.
“Through our development of national policy and model WHS legislation, we work to reduce the incidence of work-related death, injury and illness, and exposure to hazards and risks, such as respirable crystalline silica, in Australian workplaces.”
While the government announced the engineered stone ban in December 2023, compliance with the ban is unlikely to be uniform across different stakeholders in the industry, according to experts.
“Depending on where they sit in the supply chain (from import to installation), we will see a mixed bag of how prepared companies are in complying with the engineered stone ban,” said Andrew Orfanos, division director of occupational hygiene for VA Sciences and past President of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists.
“Importers will need to be sourcing new products or moving back to low silica products, or better still, products without any silica at all. There are numerous safer alternatives already available on the market,” he said.
Principal construction companies will likely not be affected as they will simply pass on the regulatory requirements to their subcontractors as part of their tender specifications. “They will simply mandate subcontractors to comply with the new regs and use a safe alternative to engineered stone,” said Orfanos.
“Installers and small building companies that actually undertake the cutting and installing of engineered stone should be happy to comply as the new regulations make their work environment much safer.
“Personal discussion with these stakeholders has identified two main motivation drivers: firstly, to protect themselves and their workforce from the deadly consequences of breathing in respirable crystalline silica, and secondly, to ensure that they do not incur any regulatory penalties associated with non-compliance or, worse still, the risk of being sued by worker diagnosed with respirable crystalline silica-related disease,” he said.
“Furthermore, until we have a regulator that has the resources to effectively regulate the engineered stone industry (audit and governance) to ensure that (1) engineered stone is safely cut, and (2) construction companies do not continue to demand unreasonable timeframes on subcontractors to cut and install engineered stone in new builds, as well as include performance incentives within contracts to complete cutting and installation of engineered stone within unreasonable time frames (which inevitably lead to users of engineered stone taking shortcuts that lead to excessive exposure to respirable crystalline silica), we will continue to see fatal cases of accelerated silicosis that have been well documented within the literature and media,” he said.
Orfanos also said that, unfortunately, even if industry complies with the engineered stone ban, the historical impact of respirable crystalline silica exposure within the industry will be seen for years to come. “This will very likely lead to lawsuits, as those affected are unable to continue work or try and look after their families before they pass away,” he said.
“If the industry does not comply with the engineered stone ban, we will continue to see workers exposed to harmful levels of respirable crystalline silica. This scenario will unfortunately manifest itself in the form of young men and women continuing to die of accelerated silicosis and the likely ongoing litigation associated with PCBUs not providing a safe workplace.”
Kate Cole, an independent certified occupational hygienist who also served as past President of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists, said there are an estimated one in four engineered stone workers with silicosis or other silica-related disease, which is a much higher rate compared to any other industry where silica is processed in Australia.
“Independent scientific analysis has shown how toxic this product is, and disease rates continue to climb,” she said.
Cole also predicted there would be a rise in legal action over the longer term: “It’s reasonable to assume that litigation is likely. With thousands of sick workers left without an income and in much need of medical support, I am sure that conversations are starting to turn towards compensation,” she said.
For OHS professionals affected by the ban, Cole said they should undertake an inspection to understand where engineered stone and other silica-containing materials might be present in their places of work.
“Take the time to understand how these materials may be disturbed or if dust could be generated from them,” she said.
Orfanos also said OHS professionals should be careful when reviewing a product that states that it is silica-free or poses no inhalational hazards.
“Make sure you obtain an Australian GHS-compliant SDS for the material and look at the specific ingredients. Even if the product contains ‘low’ levels of silica, it still may contain other hazardous ingredients that workers need to be protected against,” he said.
