Licensing Silicosis
Conversely, asbestos was not banned in Britain for nearly another decade and due to asbestos’ latency period of 15 to 60 years, there are still over 5,000 deaths in the UK per year that are attributed to exposure dating back to the 1950s.”
the health and safety of those working with the material. The data revealed that although those who worked with engineered stone only accounted for 2 % of the silicaexposed workforce, they accounted for the‘ overwhelming majority’ of diagnosed silicosis cases and faced faster-developing, more severe presentations of the disease.
Despite legal requirements for businesses to limit their workers’ exposure to silica, such as wet-cutting to reduce the inhalation of silica dust, air monitoring technologies, worker health surveillance and various government-led silicosis awareness initiatives, Safe Work Australia’ s regulation impact statement concluded that mitigation measures were insufficient to protect workers from the risk of silicosis and a ban of engineered stone was recommended on this basis.
Who bears the cost of delaying a ban in Britain?
There have been many claims that a ban of engineered stone would not be feasible in Britain, however they are all underpinned by the assumption that mitigation strategies can safeguard construction workers from silicosis. Australia found this not to be the case.
For example, the argument that a ban of engineered stone would drive the material off-market, reducing the level of vigilance when existing engineered stone fittings need to be removed or renovated.
However, engineered stone being banned due to it being a life-threatening risk would in and of itself act as an awareness campaign for the importance of protective measures when handling the material.
The wet-cutting of engineered stone, PPE and air-monitoring technologies could all be mandated to minimise exposure where silica-based materials already exist but a ban of further use of the material to safeguard our construction workers from any inhalation of silica in the future should be the direction of travel.
The Australian findings of how quickly and severely acute silicosis can develop( within a matter of weeks) also highlight the danger of silicosis, not only to the health of construction workers, but the general public. The UK has 19 million owner-occupied households, and of these households, 39 % undertake DIY home improvements including renovations of fixtures made of engineered stone. This means that approximately 7 million homeowners are completing DIY home improvement projects with limited protection from silica inhalation.
Businesses may have the knowledge and resources to implement mitigation strategies- although for SMEs with limited occupational health supervisory resources this is disproportionately onerous- but there can be no reasonable expectation that homeowners in Britain will have the knowledge nor resources available to adequately protect themselves from the dangers of engineered stone in their homes.
Conclusion: learning from asbestos, acting on silicosis
If Britain fails to learn from Australia, then we could face a similar wave of preventable deaths as those caused by asbestos. Australia has demonstrated that even stringent controls cannot reliably prevent silicosis, yet Britain continues to place
The wet-cutting of engineered stone, PPE and air-monitoring technologies could all be mandated to minimise exposure where silica-based materials already exist but a ban of further use of the material to safeguard our construction workers from any inhalation of silica in the future should be the direction of travel.”
Acute silicosis can develop rapidly following high levels of exposure and the widespread presence of engineered stone in British homes creates an additional risk for the millions of people carrying out DIY renovations without specialist knowledge or protection.”
responsibility for managing this risk on those working with the material.
This is particularly problematic for SMEs, which often do not have the occupational health expertise or resources of larger organisations. Expecting smaller businesses to continually monitor exposure, maintain specialist equipment and ensure compliance with multiple protective measures is an unreasonable way to manage a material capable of causing an incurable disease. It also leaves workers dependent on the quality of controls that businesses may struggle to implement consistently.
The danger is not limited to the workplace. Acute silicosis can develop rapidly following high levels of exposure and the widespread presence of engineered stone in British homes creates an additional risk for the millions of people carrying out DIY renovations without specialist knowledge or protection. Businesses, workers and the public should be able to have confidence that the materials they are handling do not carry a serious and avoidable risk to their health.
Britain has already seen the consequences of waiting for the effects of hazardous materials to become undeniable. The continuing deaths from historic asbestos exposure show that occupational health decisions can have consequences for decades. Lessons learned from this public health crisis, and from Australia’ s experience with silicosis, have provided Britain with the opportunity to act on the evidence before the same devastating cycle is repeated.
Emily Agyeman, NFB Parliamentary Affairs and Communications Executive
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