Silicosis

It is understandable that calls to ban engineered stone kitchen benchtops and similar building products are growing more urgent.

[by July 2024](https://www.smh.com.au/national/stop-this-killer-stone-cfmeu-wants-popular-bench-top-material-banned-20221123-p5c0l4.html) it would take [ industrial action ](https://www.theage.com.au/national/stop-this-killer-stone-cfmeu-wants-popular-bench-top-material-banned-20221123-p5c0l4.html)to prevent its use by its members. [Sophie Cotsis, ](https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/members/Pages/member-details.aspx?pk=53)NSW opposition work health and safety spokeswoman, told us: “The regulator goes in and does nothing. Victoria requires engineered stone companies [ to be licensed](https://ablis.business.gov.au/service/vic/engineered-stone-licence/46310) and last year issued a new [code of compliance, ](https://www.riskstrategies.com.au/post/worksafe-victoria-code-engineered-stone)breaches of which could be used as evidence in criminal proceedings. [The Age's View](/by/the-age's-view-p4yvip)– Since The Age was first published in 1854, the editorial team has believed it important to express a considered view on the issues of the day for readers, always putting the public interest first. [In its final report in 2021 ](https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-dust-disease-taskforce-final-report?language=en)it found that [nearly one in four workers ](https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2022/07/all-of-governments-response-to-the-national-dust-disease-taskforce-final-report.pdf)who had cut engineered stone and had been in the industry since before 2018 were suffering from silicosis or other silica dust-related diseases. [joint investigation](/link/follow-20170101-p5ckpn) by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes suggests some employers are continuing to cut corners, and compliance with relevant codes is at times enforced less than optimally. It recommended that [ “further decisive action ](https://www.theage.com.au/national/stop-this-killer-stone-cfmeu-wants-popular-bench-top-material-banned-20221123-p5c0l4.html)is required to better protect workers in dust-generating industries and to support affected workers and their families”. [progressive massive fibrosis](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5299811/) and increases the likelihood of lung cancer and tuberculosis. [ are safer when the stone is cut wet](https://www.breathefreelyaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/BFA-Silica-Dust-Working-with-Engineered-Stone-August-2019.pdf), limiting the release of dust; consequently [ dry cutting of the stone](https://www.smh.com.au/national/stop-this-killer-stone-cfmeu-wants-popular-bench-top-material-banned-20221123-p5c0l4.html) was banned in Queensland in 2018, Victoria in 2019 and NSW in 2020. [Modelling by Curtin University ](https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/benchtop-ban-urged-as-australian-study-lays-bare-lung-cancer-silicosis-risk-20220711-p5b0t3.html)in a study commissioned by the ACTU has predicted up to 103,000 workers will eventually be diagnosed with silicosis and another 10,000 with lung cancer after being exposed to the potentially deadly dust. But when it is cut, ground, sanded, polished or shaped without appropriate safety procedures, [including the use of industrial respirators](https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1077838/working-with-engineered-stone-checklist.pdf), it exposes workers and others in the immediate environment to fine particles called crystalline silica, which, when inhaled, can lodge deep in the lungs and cause the deadly disease silicosis. [National Dust Disease Taskforce](https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-dust-disease-taskforce-final-report?language=en) to report on control and management of dust diseases including silicosis.

In a joint 60 Minutes, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald investigation, Adele Ferguson reveals startling in...

The invented name "Caesarstone® Silicosis" did not (and still does not) exist in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases (ICD). [here](https://prod.static9.net.au/fs/d4f39ceb-c239-489c-ba03-6b1edc830af5). - The objection to the article (publishing Professor Mordechai Kramer's study) was on the basis that it targeted Caesarstone. However, Caesarstone is just one manufacturer and supplier of engineered stone. - Caesarstone is a name ubiquitously interchanged with engineered stone. - Caesarstone product is not causing harm.

In 2012, Ryan Hoy redesigned his house and put in an imitation stone counter top in the kitchen. He was appealed to the affordability of it and its attractive ...

NAN was formed in part to disseminate news easily across the country and to the international community and also as a means to counter negative stories about Nigeria. Online newspapers have become popular since the rise of internet accessibility in Nigeria; more than ten percent of the top fifty websites in the country are devoted to online newspapers. Nigeria's economy is the largest in Africa, the 25th-largest in the world by nominal GDP, and 25th-largest by PPP. [Hausa](https://nnn.ng/hausa/) in the north, Yoruba in the west, and Igbo in the east, together comprising over 60% of the total population. Due to improved mobile penetration and the growth of smartphones, Nigerians have begun to rely on the internet for news. Nigeria is a regional power in Africa, a middle power in international affairs, and is an emerging global power. The largest city in Nigeria is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the second-largest in Africa. Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west. Few articles discuss women and there are few photographs of women outside the fashion sections. The modern state originated with British colonialization in the 19th century, taking its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914 by Lord Lugard. We are honest, fair, accurate, thorough and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting news in the best interest of the public, because truth is the cornerstone of journalism and we strive diligently to ascertain the truth in every [Nigeria news](https://nnn.ng/) report. "Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa.

The calls to ban engineered stone kitchen benchtops and similar building products are understandably growing louder.

Silicosis is the oldest occupational lung disease in the world, but there has been a surge in cases. What is it, and how big is the problem?

The damage to the lungs is irreversible, and treatment is mainly about slowing the progression of the disease and relieving its symptoms. Of the 1054 workers monitored so far, 204 have silicosis – a rate of one in five. “This is why asbestos that is degrading in buildings around Australia is a far bigger problem than silica in place in building materials such as the benchtop in my kitchen,” he says. but not everybody with silicosis has the same prognosis, and early detection is really key to that.” If silicosis is spotted early and doctors step in to prevent further exposure, patients may never develop symptoms and lead a normal life. The resurgence of silicosis has coincided with a boom in the artificial stone benchtop industry. Silicosis is the oldest occupational lung disease in the world but there is now a surge in cases. And is silica really the new asbestos? Cases peaked in Australia among construction and demolition workers from the 1940s until the ’60s, but increased awareness and better work safety practices helped reduce the prevalence of the disease. That can quickly progress to chest pains, fatigue and weight loss as the disease advances. And how big is the problem? Silicosis is a long-term lung disease caused by inhaling crystalline silica, a fine dust naturally occurring in many construction materials such as stones, rocks, sand, bricks and tiles.

There are growing calls for a ban on engineered stone, a product that's common in home renovations, as workers are being exposed to accelerated form of ...

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) is launching a new campaign, vowing t...

Please." "But if decision-makers won't act, the CFMEU will. Governments must act to stop its importation and use," he said. "But if you join the campaign to stop the importation and manufacture of engineered stone, you can help save someone else's. The "Stop The Killer Stone" campaign is calling for the government to ban the use and importation of engineered stone. "Engineered stone is the asbestos of the 2020s.

Silicosis is an incurable, debilitating and sometimes fatal lung disease caused by inhaling tiny particles of crystalline silica dust. Press PLAY below to hear ...

There are growing calls to ban popular kitchen benchtops which are killing Australians. Push to ban the popular kitchen benchtops killing Australians Press PLAY below to hear what the ACTU wants to see happen