A traditional father of three has claimed Bunnings is ‘profiting from death’ after he was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Ben Harrison, 34, has been battling silicosis, a long-term lung disease caused by breathing unsafe levels of silica dust, for more than four years.
Mr Harrison is believed to have inhaled the toxic particles when cutting into silicon-based kitchen worktops while working as a stonemason on the Gold Coast.
Many of the workbenches he worked on are sold by hardware giant Bunnings.
His fiancée, Cristale McCormick, told Daily Mail Australia that until the laws around the use of man-made stones change, Bunnings is happy to make money, despite stonemasons getting sick and dying.
“They wait for (law changes), that’s essentially what they do. It’s wrong,” Ms. McCormick said.
“They make money until they can’t anymore.”
After returning to his home state of Tasmania with his partner and children, he was approached by friends who advised him to get tested after one of his former colleagues, Anthony White, was diagnosed with silicosis.
Tradie Ben Harrison (pictured above left with his fiancée, Cristale McCormick, and their three children), 34, has struggled for years with silicosis, a long-term lung disease caused by inhaling unsafe levels of silica dust.
The day before he turned 30, doctors told him he had an incurable lung disease.
He and his colleagues had “no idea” of the risks of working with the workbenches and said no one had ever used any protection.
He recalled that on some working days the stonemasons could not see each other because it was “so dusty.”
Harrison’s former colleague, Mr White, became the first Australian to die from the disease 16 months after his diagnosis.
According to his fiancée, the young father’s condition has been a terrible burden on the whole family and they are now faced with the prospect of raising their three children, aged five, seven and nine, as widows.
“It has completely destroyed our family and our entire lives have been taken from us,” Mrs McCormick said.
“We live in a nightmare of uncertainty every day.”
The day after his thirtieth birthday, the two got engaged and after much delay, they plan to finally tie the knot while they still can.
“We’re getting married on October 14 so we can make sure we get married before he passes away.”
Awareness groups such as the Lung Foundation claim that silicosis is today’s asbestos and that an entire generation of stonemasons will be affected.
The father-of-three had been working as a stonemason on the Gold Coast when he started feeling seriously unwell
The couple slammed Bunnings for ‘profiting from death’ after the hardware chain faced calls from the construction union to remove its stone worktops (stock image)
The parents at first tried to hide Mr. Harrison’s diagnosis from their children, but after a while it became too obvious to hide.
“As time went on, we started to realize that we can’t hide doctor appointments,” she said.
“And when he went to spend the night at the hospital, we just said Dad had a sleepover.
‘When he started getting worse, we had to say, ‘You can’t play with Dad because he’s out of breath.’
“Ultimately, we had to have serious conversations with our kids and give them insights they shouldn’t have.”
The couple contacted Bunnings after the hardware giant faced calls from the construction trade union not to sell technical kitchen worktops after realizing they contained a high concentration of crystalline silica.
“Bunnings only profits from death,” Mrs. Harrison told Yahoo News Australia.
‘They don’t care about the consequences. They sell it to everyone and they sell equipment to cut it.”
The CFMEU took their demands to ban the products directly to the store’s director, Michael Schneider, warning that it was ‘unreasonable’ to keep stone worktops in their product line.
“Bunnings has unique market power and a unique place in Australian society. Removing this great product from your shelves would send a powerful message,” wrote CFMEU CEO Zach Smith.
In his letter, Mr Smith called for the product to be removed ‘with immediate effect’.
“I am disappointed that despite all this information being in the public sphere, Bunnings is still advertising and selling stone products with high silica content in your stores nationwide,” he said.
‘Conversely, it is unconscionable for Bunnings to continue to promote and sell this great product when it does not have to.’
Mr Harrison was diagnosed with the terminal illness he contracted from inhaling silica dust while cutting silicon-based kitchen worktops through his work as a stonemason
Cells from the lungs of a patient with silicosis. Notice that the speck of silica dust shines brightly
But Bunnings director of merchandise Jen Tucker said the hardware giant would follow the advice of regulators.
‘Most of the worktops we sell in store are laminate or wood, but the stone worktops we supply are pre-cut to size before they arrive to the customer and are supplied and installed by a specialist supplier who owns a stone license and maintains strict safety standards to protect production and installation teams in accordance with the requirements of their license,” she said.
‘We take the safety of our team and our customers very seriously.
“We know safety is a concern for the wider industry, and something the federal government is currently reviewing.”
‘We support new legislation and the introduction of consistent standards and licensing across all states and territories.’
Mr Harrison has now turned his attention to his family, with plans to marry his partner next month
He can no longer work due to the terminal illness and is struggling to receive any form of compensation from his employer
Mr. Harrison can no longer work due to the terminal illness.
He has also struggled to receive any form of compensation from his employer, who he claims has not taken any responsibility for his silicosis diagnosis.
The former stonemason has now turned his attention to his family and plans to marry his partner next month.
When asked what his future looked like, Mr Harrison said he wasn’t sure he would “have much of it”.
Modeling by Curtin University, published earlier this year, estimates that up to 103,000 tradies will be diagnosed with silicosis in their lifetime due to exposure to silica dust at work.
More than 10,000 people will develop lung cancer.
The CFMEU has pledged to ban its members from using or importing artificial stone products from July next year if federal and state governments do not act.
When asked what his future looked like, Mr Harrison said he wasn’t sure he would “have much of it”.