Ban killer kitchen worktop dust to save young workers

The first UK cases of a deadly lung disease in tradespeople working with a stone popular in kitchen worktops were revealed by The i Paper in February 2024.

Since then, the weight of scientific evidence, cases and the number of young men who have died from the disease a relatively short time after diagnosis have grown.

Yet little action has been taken to end the unsafe working practices that have allowed workers to inhale toxic silica dust while cutting and grinding engineered – or artificial – stone.

At least 45 cases of silicosis among workers cutting engineered stone have been recorded in the UK, with the average age of those diagnosed just 31.

As a result, The i Paper is today launching its Killer Kitchens campaign to force the Government to clamp down on this deadly dust.

Health experts, MPs and unions are backing our push for better protections for tradespeople at risk of the deadly and incurable lung disease silicosis when cutting engineered stone kitchen countertops.

Some have also called for the material to be banned while others say the risks can be managed with appropriate safety measures in place.

Exposure to lung-shredding silica dust from cutting these man-made quartz slabs, popular in kitchen makeovers, has seen vulnerable workers, many of them migrants, have their worlds tuned upside down.

Dubbed a modern-day asbestos by union leaders in Australia – the first country to ban the material following a health “epidemic” there – silicosis linked to engineered stone follows the boom in popularity of desirable quartz kitchen and bathroom countertops.

But it is costing the lives and livelihoods of a growing number of people in the UK.

The man-made substance can contain up to 95 per cent respirable crystalline silica (RCS), far higher than natural stones like granite or marble. Dry cutting it without specialist equipment or protection places workers most at risk of exposure, with fears that workers not subject to factory working practices and compliance are most at threat.

Silica dust from cutting stone is the biggest risk to construction workers after asbestos, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Senior reporter Joe Duggan has been working to uncover the scandal of engineered stone silicosis in the UK for almost two years. His work was shortlisted for the UK’s version of the Pulitzer Prize – the British Journalism Award for public service journalism. If you have you been affected by this issue, and wish to speak to him, please contact Joe.Duggan@theipaper.com

Doctors say in comparison to silicosis associated with natural silica sources like mining, engineered stone silicosis is associated with a shorter duration of exposure, more rapid disease progression and higher mortality.

Many workers are also being diagnosed very young – the average age of the cases in the UK so far is 31, with the youngest, aged just 23, among those referred for a lung transplant.

Doctors treating the UK’s first quartz silicosis patients say a concerted effort is needed to prevent the “epidemic” seen in other countries since 2010, when the first outbreaks linked to artificial stone were reported.

Australia banned engineered stone after more than 579 stonemasons were diagnosed with silicosis from 2015 to 2022. Doctors there estimate there are now around 950 cases.

In the US, the worst-hit state of California has had more than 400 cases and 25 deaths since 2018 among its kitchen countertop workers, almost all of them Latino migrants.

So far, the number diagnosed in the UK has reached at least 45 since the first case was diagnosed in 2023, with two men – Wessam al Jundi, 28, and Marek Marzec, 48, dying last year from respiratory failure as a result of silicosis.

This is a rise in sickness of 460 per cent since 2024 when The i Paper revealed the first UK cases.

Dr Johanna Feary, a respiratory consultant at the Royal Brompton Hospital, where patients are being treated, said: “I would urge anyone who has worked with artificial stone to get themselves checked out, and if they have any concerns, to contact our specialist service at Royal Brompton Hospital.”

She referred people to the Brompton’s clinical service website www.lungsatwork.org.uk, which accepts referrals for patients.

A report by doctors, published in August 2024, warned that UK cases are likely to rise “significantly” in coming years. It also shared the concerns of stonemasons who reported a lack of proper safety measures to protect them from dust.

These include using water to suppress dust as well as extraction tools to control how the dust circulates in the air when cutting stone, as well as respiratory protective equipment.

But RCS is not just a risk to those working in the kitchen countertop industry.

According to the HSE, 500 construction workers a year die from exposure to silica dust, contracting lung cancer, asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as well as silicosis. Total annual occupational lung disease deaths including from asbestos are estimated at 12,000.

These shocking figures for what are preventable occupational diseases, are unacceptable.

Experts have joined politicians and unions to throw their weight behind The i Paper’s campaign.

Kevin Bampton chief executive officer of the British Occupational Hygiene Society, said they support the message that dust exposure and under-resourcing of the HSE are all directly linked to “the tragic stories that we have been reading about”.

“By shining a light on how corners are being cut on the health of workers just to shave a few pounds off the cost of a kitchen worktop, this campaign can and will save lives,” he said.

Professor Martie Van Tongeren, an occupational health epidemiologist who oversees the SWORD respiratory-illness database, called for the UK to follow Australia and implement a ban on engineered stone.

“In the meantime, there should be a strict enforcement of unsafe use of these materials,” he said.

“I strongly support this campaign by The i Paper to raise awareness of this issue and to improve the way we protect our workers from silica dust and other workplace hazards.”

Jim Shannon, DUP MP, and chair of the APPG for Respiratory Health said the cross-party group has been concerned about the impact of silicosis for some time, with a report published in 2023.

“Since then, we have seen a rise in deaths from silicosis from engineered stone and this needs to be urgently addressed,” said Shannon, who backs a ban on quartz.

“I am delighted that The i Paper is prepared to look at silicosis in more detail. The APPG supports the campaign and hope that it will contribute to reducing deaths and disability for what is a totally preventable disease”.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Silica dust is now known to be a killer, and workers’ lives are being put at risk every day from cutting engineered stone.

“We welcome this campaign, because without action there will be thousands more deaths from silicosis. The unsafe cutting of high silica stone must be banned – and backed by firm enforcement.”

He called for greater funding for the HSE to crack down on “rogue employers who subject their staff to lethal hazards”, with the TUC among those backing a ban on quartz.

Rob Miguel, national health and safety adviser at Unite the Union: “We support The i Paper’s campaign to draw attention to the dangers of cutting engineered stone without proper safeguards and to the health risks workers face.

“Unsafe cutting in the workplace should be banned and the HSE must vigorously enforce this. But we believe engineered stone should be banned completely and safer alternatives need to be explored.”

Nigel Fletcher, operations officer of the Worktop Fabricators Federation, said: “We wholeheartedly support your message to ban the unsafe cutting of kitchen worktop stone.

“We want to help raise standards across the industry, supporting any business that wants to improve and drive out those who don’t follow protocols, only focusing on low prices without considering quality or safety.”

As well as banning engineered stone, last year Australia also brought in new regulations outlawing dry cutting of all material containing more than one per cent crystalline silica.

While laws are already in place here to protect workers, Mr Bampton said they are “simply not as unambiguous” as Australia’s.

“In an ideal world it would be illegal to cut, drill or polish silica containing materials without proper water suppression, as in Australia,” he said.

“Having a simple rule that there must always be effective water suppression when dealing with silica based materials, other than for very minor operations, would have a net huge benefit on health and be a simple message to convey and relatively easy to enforce.”

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Ewan Tant, a lawyer for Leigh Day, a law firm representing some of the tradesmen diagnosed with silicosis, said specifying that dry cutting was banned would probably make it simpler for the HSE to prosecute and bring criminal charges against an employer.

A spokesperson for the HSE said: ““Our condolences are with anyone who has lost a loved one to silicosis or has been affected by work-related disease.

“We would urge all GB importers and distributors to promote the use of low silica products. They lower the risk to workers during processing whilst being equivalent in appearance and durability for their customers.”

The Killer Kitchens campaign is calling to:

Ban unsafe cutting of kitchen worktop stone in the UK

Current regulations should be toughened to make dry cutting of high-silica engineered stone like quartz without safety measures like water suppression and/or dust extraction illegal.

Guaranteed workplace health tests and a national database of sickness and deaths

Government-funded screening drives for stonemasons in Australia were crucial in determining the extent of the engineered-stone silicosis problem there.

A similar screening programme should be launched in the UK with efforts made to find and screen all workers not granted occupational health access.

Improved health surveillance to ensure quartz workers are checked early and have greater access to CT scans, which have been shown to be more effective than X-rays in detecting silicosis.

Silicosis should also be made a reportable disease by law under the UK’s reporting regulations, RIDDOR, with employers required to keep records of all work-related fatalities, injuries, and occupational diseases.

Force HSE to prosecute bosses in test cases

More Government funding should be allocated so the HSE can crackdown on workshops and carry out out inspections on employers, often small firms, putting workers’ lives at risk by exposing then to silica dust.

Analysis by The i Paper of HSE reports from reports 2009/10 to 2024/25 show in real terms, funding to the HSE from the Government has been slashed by around half.

During that time, the HSE has also seen its workload increase and the number of inspectors has dropped by an estimated 41 per cent over 20 years. Inspections are down by the same amount since 2011/12.