CFMEU to ban engineered stone benchtops that cause silicosis disease

The Australian Construction Union is instructing workers to put down tools if engineered stone worktops used in kitchens are not banned by the federal government.

The stone benches, when ground or polished, emit a very potent type of dust containing tiny silica crystals that can be inhaled.

The benches have led more than 600 workers in NSW, Victoria and Queensland to be diagnosed with potentially deadly silicosis, a long-term lung disease caused by inhaling large amounts of silica dust.

The worrying spike in silicosis led the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) on Wednesday to demand the federal government ban imports of engineered stone by July 2024.

Joshua Suwa is unable to work as a stonemason due to a silicosis diagnosis. (photo: Mr. Suwa uses a wooden fence to stabilize an engineered stone plank he is cutting, without wearing a mask)

Silica dust from worked stone has been singled out as a major culprit in the diagnosis of lung diseases, especially silicosis

Mr. Suwa is desperate to stay as long as possible to see the two boys he and partner Erin have grow up (pictured Mr. Suwa and his partner Erin and their boys)

If the government does not enforce the ban, the union will implement its own restrictions by instructing workers to take industrial action instead of using the stone product.

“The time for talk is over and now it’s time for action,” secretary Zac Smith told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday.

“This is the asbestos of the 2000s.”

Victoria and Queensland have already banned dry cutting of engineered stone, with the ACT and NSW considering following suit.

At the federal level, the former coalition government received a report last year recommending that imports of some or all engineered stone products should be banned from July 2024, but no ban has yet been put in place.

Australian mother-of-two Joanna McNeill, 34, was diagnosed with silicosis after working a clerical job near a quarry

Mother of two, Joanna McNeill, 34, worked in quarry administration and was diagnosed with silicosis when she went for a routine health assessment last year after returning to work after maternity leave.

Mrs. McNeill felt quarry dust on her face and hair every day as she left her office to go home.

But she had no idea that the tiny particles were slowly scarring her lungs and would one day leave her struggling to breathe.

The disease usually affects craftsmen who work to cut and install countertops that use the stone.

Daily Mail Australia previously spoke to two men, who are supposed to be in their prime, but are each ill after falling ill from exposure to the silica dust during construction work.

Both 27-year-old Hak Kim and 34-year-old Joshua Suwa could see their lives ended from inhaling the dust at work.

Mr Suwa, a former high-level footballer, developed silicosis and scleroderma after working as a stonemason for nine years, five of which were in Sydney and four in Melbourne.

He desperately wants to keep watching his two boys — Hudson, 5, and Lenny, 2 — grow up with partner Erin.

But he fears that his silicosis will worsen, as happens with most lung diseases.

“It’s tough, I don’t know how to go on with it. I am an extremely positive person so I keep believing and hoping and praying.

“I need to be there for my two kids as long as possible.

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Mr Kim is on a lung transplant waiting list after breathing dust every day while working at demolition sites in Melbourne, aged between 20 and 24.

The $1.6 million Mr Kim received in compensation for never being given respirators offers little consolation, he said.

He was paid $1.6 million in compensation for not being instructed to use a respirator on the job, but says that’s little consolation.

“I cried when they told me I needed a transplant. It was hard to accept,” Mr. Kim said.

The surgery is a last resort and even after surgery, the patient is at high risk of infection and organ rejection.

Mr. Kim loved to play soccer and went fishing every weekend, but now he can’t walk far or hold a fishing rod. He needs oxygen to deal with constant breathing difficulties.

Co-author of the 2021 Curtin University study, epidemiologist Lin Fritschi, said banning engineered stone would prevent nearly hundreds of lung cancers and thousands of cases of silicosis.

She said the health effects of silica dust can also be reduced in several ways.

These include mandatory wet cutting or dust extraction on the tool and the consistent use of high quality respiratory protection.

What is Silicosis?

Silicosis is an aggressive and incurable lung disease resulting from inhalation of crystalline silica (sand) dust.

The disease is known to occur in workers who have been exposed to dust for hundreds of years – usually workers who have had long-term exposure to mineral dust, such as while working in mines.

Similarly, when products containing crystalline silica are cut, crushed, polished or machined, they release very fine dust particles into the air, which are usually so small that they are invisible.

Silicosis means that silica dust slowly causes scarring of the lungs. The disease mostly affects traders

These are then inhaled and can get lodged deep in the lungs where they can cause serious damage to your lungs and health.

Exposure to crystalline silica dust can cause chronic bronchitis and emphysema, among others. Symptoms of exposure to silica dust include shortness of breath, severe cough, chest pain and fatigue.

There is no such thing as silica cancer. However, the presence of silica dust in the lungs can significantly increase the risk of developing lung cancer. Lung cancer from silica dust is also more likely if the person has been a smoker.

Silicosis is a disease characterized by inflammation and scarring of the lungs. Silicosis is generally a progressive condition, which can lead to the development of other lung diseases from silica dust and lead to death.