Engineered stone bench tops are making workers sick — what is being done about it?

Thursday, 29 April 2021

Strict safety measures can reduce the risk of engineered stone workers getting sick from exposure to silica dust, but not all fabricators are bothering to follow them. (First published 2021)

The big slab of Carrara marble in Fabio Valle’s Christchurch living room is a monument to his country of birth and the stone masonry job he abandoned to protect his health.

In late 2019 a CT scan showed the 33-year-old former ultra-marathon runner had nodules on his lung, and four months ago he became a real estate agent. “It was a shock. I was quite fit, and I never had any issues with my breathing.”

More than 500 New Zealand workers exposed to silica dust from cutting engineered stone are at risk of developing the lung disease accelerated silicosis, and Valle is one of the few to have had his condition properly assessed.

Occupational health specialists have described silicosis as New Zealand’s most significant health crisis in 80 years, on a par with the havoc wrought by asbestos, if we fail to adopt the “go hard, go early” approach employed to protect people from Covid-19.

**READ MORE:

Second generation stone mason Fabio Valle learned to cut natural stone in his father’s Italian business, later switching to engineered stone in Australia and New Zealand. But when tests showed early signs of lung disease he quit the industry for the sake of his family and became a real estate agent.

* Hundreds of stonemasons at risk of lung disease, but 'relatively few' being tested

* Accelerated silicosis warning prompts 52 people to contact WorkSafe NZ

* Concerns for Kiwi stonemasons after accelerated silicosis rise in Australian benchtop craftsmen

* Deadly workplace disease linked in Australia to bathroom and kitchen stone products

Silica levels in the top sample of engineered stone are much higher than those in natural marble or granite. That makes the fine dust released when it is cut a major health hazard for workers fabricating the stone for domestic bench tops and commercial wall linings.

They argue that two years on from learning about the high incidence of disease among young engineered stone workers in Australia, our system has been slow to identify potentially affected workers and to trace those who have left the industry.

In Queensland alone a quarter of the 400 stone masons screened for silicosis were diagnosed with the preventable but incurable disease, some after working with engineered stone for less than 12 months, the youngest was aged just 22, and there has been at least one death.

Given that scenario, Royal Australasian College of Physicians spokeswoman on silicosis Dr Alexandra Muthu says the current screening efforts by the Ministry of Health, ACC and WorkSafe and lack of funding for occupational health are “an outrage”.

So far only 85 claims have been lodged with ACC and fewer than four have been approved, despite the Ministry of Health recommending assessments of anyone who has worked with engineered stone for more than six months in the past 10 years.

“We’re sitting here with people going to work being exposed to silica because we have done such a poor job,” says Muthu.

Dr Alexandra Muthu says engineered stone workers told that they have an untreatable disease and should change careers need psychological support.

Are you affected by silica exposure? Email amanda.cropp@stuff.co.nz

Hidden toxins

Sales of engineered stone are growing steadily and each year New Zealand imports about 60,000 slabs worth an estimated $50 million.

Applying water to the cutting process stops silica dust from being released into work places, but the high tech gear is expensive, especially for small businesses.

The mixture of resin and quartz produces a harder wearing and often cheaper alternative to marble and granite, but silica levels in engineered stone are more than 90 per cent, much higher than in most natural stone.

There is no danger once a bench top is in place, but the fine respirable crystalline silica (RCS) particles released during dry cutting, polishing and grinding can cause kidney disease, and autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, as well as silicosis.

A New Zealand Dust Diseases Task Force of clinicians, co-chaired by Muthu, was set up in 2019 to advise the Ministry of Health, ACC and WorkSafe on how best to handle the assessment of exposed workers.

Artisan Stone supplies high quality protective equipment for workers who must be clean-shaven to ensure respirators fit properly, and their dirty overalls are collected by a laundry service so silica dust is not “exported” into homes.

It recommended targetted screening by a team of occupational health specialists visiting work places.

That was ignored in favour of a clinical options where workers are encouraged to visit their GP who can then lodge an ACC claim, which, if accepted sees ACC manage and pay for further assessment and investigations.

Muthu says that expecting workers to take time off to see their GP, if they even have one, is too much of a barrier when time is of the essence.

Standard lung function tests and X-rays often do not show disease until it is well advanced, so CT scans, careful monitoring and a detailed occupational history are needed to pick up high exposure and prevent further damage before it is too late.

This lung X-ray shows permanent scarring caused by prolonged exposure to silica particles like those released during the cutting of engineered stone.

Last July the Occupational Health Nurses Association submitted a 94-page report calling for the Government to invest $290,000 in a dedicated team of dust disease specialists to work directly with employers.

Based on reviews of first known New Zealand cases, the association says up to 280 people currently still working in the engineered stone industry are waiting to be diagnosed with accelerated silicosis.

Of those a third are expected to have an irreversible terminal form of silicosis, with a life expectancy of less than a decade.

In December a group of unionists, occupational health nurses, and researchers wrote to Health Minister Andrew Little again calling for the urgent formation of a national accelerated silicosis prevention system to identify and support at risk workers, reduce work place exposure, collect data and create a register of those affected.

Four months later Little’s office finally responded to group spokeswoman and occupational health nurse researcher, Heidi Börner, saying the minister had noted their concerns and was seeking advice from officials.

WorkSafe says it does not know how many former engineered stone workers may be eligible for the health assessments, but Börner says we should be actively tracing them, especially those still exposed to dust in other parts of the construction industry.

Artisan Stone owner Steve Kirk has invested heavily in machinery to reduce dust exposure and says it definitely has an impact on costs.

“We don’t want to pick people up so late we are a palliative unit.”

There are also concerns that smaller engineered stone businesses importing their own materials are flying under the radar in terms of monitoring.

On top of the 113 engineered stone businesses WorkSafe has visited, industry sources have provided the names of another 104 businesses the agency was unaware of.

WorkSafe has identified 663 office and sales staff, and tradespeople such as joiners who share premises with fabricators, but it says they were not eligible for the health assessment process because they were unlikely to be exposed to the same level of silica dust.

Muthu says all employees should be assessed by an occupational health expert regardless their jobs, and making such a sweeping decision about their level of risk without seeking information on exposure was unusual.

Christchurch Kitchen and bathroom designer Davinia Sutton says the industry is now much more aware of issues around engineered stone, and she is careful about her choice of fabricators.

“It would happen in any other health situation, a risk assessment would be done by the relevant clinician.

“Many of these workers have high exposure due to open plan factories and poor dust hygiene, even if they weren’t on the tools.”

From the shop floor

Artisan Stone owner Steve Kirk says it took 18 months to get straight answers on how to better monitor his 36 workers after alarming reports of health problems emerged in Australia.

He is grateful Muthu stepped in to help out by personally conducting assessments, and three workers who had spent 10 years-plus in the industry were found to have issues.

Of the two with legacy issues ascribed to previous work places, one was working under strict criteria set down by ACC, and the other had quit the industry.

Some in the industry believe prices for engineered stone bench tops should reflect the cost of safety measures required to protect workers from dust exposure.

Standards have changed markedly since Kirk bought the Christchurch business 13 years ago.

“When I took over the standard protocol for dealing with dust when people were dry cutting was to have a cigarette to kill the taste of it, rather than wearing a respirator, and that was pretty well industry-wide. It was not recognised as the safety concern it should have been.”

Artisan Stone has invested millions in robotic polishers and computerised machines to cut engineered stone wet, substantially reducing dust exposure.

If any cutting is required on site during installation, workers don disposable overalls and full respiratory gear, shroud the area and use an asbestos-grade vaccum extractor to collect the dust.

Kirk has noticed an increase in small off-the-grid operators in the past five years, and he says uncontrolled dry cutting still occurs.

“People I interview for roles here that tell me as recently as a year and a half ago they were still just using a paper mask, and dry cutting everything.”

WorkSafe has visited 113 engineered stone fabricators and issued 166 enforcement notices for safety breaches.

Industry cleans house

Valle says homeowners ordering engineered stone should be prepared to pay the true cost of protecting the workers who fabricate and install their bench tops.

“But most people don't know about silicosis … they can't see the issue, so they can’t justify the price difference.”

It’s certainly a sensitive topic with the kitchen industry.

The National Kitchen and Bathroom Association initially refused to be interviewed on the subject of silicosis saying that as it was a “complex and technical issue,” and it would only respond in writing through a public relations agency.

However, executive officer Suzie Rees eventually relented and says they are encouraging members to use fabricators with good safety records.

She says engineered stone probably accounts for about half of all bench tops made in New Zealand, but silica-free products such as bamboo, timber and stainless steel are available for clients wanting alternatives.

Award-winning Christchurch designer Davinia Sutton believes customers would accept paying a higher price for engineered stone if it was necessary to improve worker safety. “It’s no different to asbestos.”

Mastercraft Kitchens has 20 licensees around the country and operations manager Dave Wilson says they are acutely aware of the dangers of silica dust, and fabricators who fail to meet minimum WorkSafe standards risk losing contracts.

The New Zealand Engineered Stone Advisory Group, founded by six major importers and distributors, joined forces with health and safety consultancy Impac Services to set up an accreditation programme to promote safe work practices, and it received a $300,000 ACC injury prevention grant.

Impac Services director Tom Reeves says it has so far accredited four fabricators and will put 130 through the process this year, with annual audits to keep them on track.

Workshops will have to prove they minimise dry cutting, and provide workers with suitable protective equipment.

Accreditation is voluntary and primarily targets fabricators, many of whom do their own installation, and Reeves concedes it will not capture independent installers working on contract for builders and joiners.

That is potentially quite a loophole because dry cutting on site is sometimes done to ensure a snug fit or drill tap holes.

Kirk believes accreditation should be compulsory because otherwise “bottom end Charlies” cutting corners on safety will have a competitive advantage.

The owner of a small engineered stone workshop says it is a cut-throat industry with kitchen manufacturers playing fabricators off against one another to get the lowest possible quote.

“It’s very price driven … you can lose a job over $100.

“If you loaded all the safety costs [engineered stone] should have, it would not be as competitively priced as it is; but if you did that, you would lose work and your business would go.”

He doubts kitchen companies will factor in the added cost of reducing dust exposure through more sophisticated machinery and PPE.

He also thinks engineered stone should be treated like asbestos where those handling it are licensed, and can charge accordingly.

Across the Tasman a coalition of unions and health organisations, including the Lung Foundation and the Thoracic Society, have supported a ban on engineered stone, phased in over three years.

Muthu does not believe a ban is necessarily the answer, because engineered stone can be safely cut with the right equipment, and silica is far from the only dust causing disease.

Her hope is that the proposed new health structure will at long last include a properly resourced public occupational health service.