Australia bans engineered stone because of silicosis risk

Australia has become the first country to ban engineered stone, a popular material for kitchen and bathroom benchtops, after documenting hundreds of cases of silicosis in workers in the industry who were exposed to dust from cutting the product.Work health and safety ministers approved a ban on the use, supply, and manufacture of engineered stone on 13 December, which will come into effect in most Australian jurisdictions in July 2024.Clinicians, unions, and medical organisations, including the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Cancer Council Australia, welcomed the news.The society’s president, Anne Holland, head of respiratory research at Monash University and Alfred Health in Melbourne, said the ban was a big step in the right direction. “There is no safe level of exposure to engineered stone for these workers,” she said.Engineered stone products can contain up to 95% crystalline silica, which is far higher than the 5-50% seen…
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