Engineered stone bench top makers shun a safety scheme to stop workers inhaling silica deadly dust

Tuesday, 21 February 2023

A high standard of PPE and equipment to “wet cut” engineered stone helps prevent workers from contracting silicosis, an incurable condition cause by exposure to silica dust released during cutting or grinding. (File photo)

Engineered stone fabricators’ lack of support for a scheme to prevent workers being exposed to deadly silica dust could lead to stricter rules for the industry.

Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood has said he would do “whatever is required to keep people safe” as Australian state governments consider banning the product which causes the incurable lung disease silicosis when safety processes are not followed.

Over a period of 16 months to January last year, ACC received 124 claims for accelerated silicosis, and so far 16 had been accepted for silicosis, probable silicosis and non-silicosis conditions.

But a voluntary accreditation scheme set up in 2021 for New Zealand’s 130 or so engineered stone fabricators has received limited support, with only 48 businesses registering, and just 26 have completed full audits.

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Quartz and resin are combined to create hard-wearing engineered stone and the level of silica can range from as much as 90% to as little as 10%.

The New Zealand Engineered Stone Safety Advisory Group representing six major suppliers of the product was instrumental in establishing the accreditation scheme, and member Mike Arthur said the unsatisfactory response raises the possibility of a mandatory regime.

“WorkSafe and the Government could consider options to ensure all operators are trained and accredited and can consistently meet the standards required.”

Engineered stone used to account for about half of all New Zealand bench tops, but cermaic or porcelain products have become more popular in recent years.

Arthur said most fabricators were small to medium-sized businesses with fewer than 20 employees, and the figure of 130 did not include builders who worked with fabricators to fit engineered stone bench tops in kitchens and bathrooms.

The accreditation scheme won a WorkSafe innovation award in 2021, and received $300,000 in funding from ACC which also heavily subsidised the audit cost for fabricators.

Prolonged exposure to fine particles of respirable crystalline silica causes scarring of the lungs, and is also associated with kidney disease, and autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

As a bare minimum they had to show workers’ PPE was properly fitted, and that stone was cut using water jets to prevent inhalation of silica dust.

Kaipiti Benchtops director Melissa Williams would like accreditation to be compulsory, and believes engineered stone suppliers should only sell to fabricators who are regularly audited.

She is grateful for the ACC subsidy that covered almost half the $5000 cost of auditing her business, including dust exposure monitoring.

“For us worker safety is paramount, the cost involved is not an issue.”

Williams said the main change they made was in upping the level of cleaning of the premises, and annual monitoring of workers’ lung function continued.

WorkSafe has sent hundreds of infringement notices to engineered stone businesses in the past few years, and Wood expects to receive advice in the next few months on how to improve standards for a problem health experts put on a par with asbestos.

After being delayed by Covid-19, a pilot programme that finally kicked off in January will see occupational health nurses will visit half a dozen engineered stone workshops in South Auckland to assess workers’ health

It has been estimated that more than 500 New Zealand workers exposed to silica dust from cutting engineered stone were at risk of developing the lung disease accelerated silicosis, and in 2019 a dust diseases task force was established to ensure affected workers got the help they needed.

Occupational health nurses have called for closer monitoring of workers, and wanted more effort to go into tracing those who had left the engineered stone industry unaware their health may have been compromised.

Australia’s Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union has threatened its members will be banned from working on engineered stone products from mid-2024 if the Government there does not act.

New Zealand’s Council of Trade Unions president Richard Wagstaff said that based on the experience in Australia, where young workers with relatively short exposure to engineered stone dust had developed silicosis, we should be moving swiftly to minimise or eliminate the risk.

“It seems to me we should be alarmed and taking it very seriously.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated 124 claims for accelerated silicosis had been received in a little over three years. The claims were received over a period of 16 months to January last year. (Amended at 3.49pm, February 22, 2023)