Silica in the News
A Parliamentary inquiry has been launched into the devastating impact that silicosis has on construction workers and their families.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Respiratory Health is working with not-for-profit organisation B&CE to understand why construction workers’ lives continue to be claimed by silicosis caused by silica (respirable crystalline silica) – the second biggest health risk to construction workers after asbestos.
Read more: scottishconstructionnow.com
DEADFLY DISEASE: Joel Goldby is one of the stonemasons to join a class action by Slater and Gordon over the spread of silicosis.
People working with silica in Orange will have a chance to brush up on safety on August 6.
SafeWork NSW will hold a Silica Roadshowat Orange Ex-Services' Club.
Executive director Andrew Gavrielatos said the workplace regulator was reaching out to business owners and workers from the manufactured stone, stonemasonry, tunnelling, mining and domestic construction industries in an effort to prevent cases of silicosis. Read more: centralwesterndaily.com.au
People working with silica in regional centres including Tamworth, Ballina, Orange, Newcastle and Queanbeyan will have a chance to brush up on safety and attend SafeWork NSW’s Silica Roadshow – Unmasking those that don’t work safe.
The Silica Roadshow will come to Orange on August 6 with an event at the Orange Ex-Servicemen’s Club. To check the dates and register to attend please visit
Read more: miragenews.com
A playground installation and landscaping contractor has been fined £20,000 after failing to provide employees with adequate control measures to prevent exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS)
Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard how on 23 March 2018, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out an unannounced inspection of a site at Newbank Garden Centre, Bury Road, Radcliffe. The HSE inspector served a Prohibition Notice to stop two employees of Playscape Design Ltd, using a powered tool to cut flags without any respiratory protective equipment. This put the health of the employees at risk due to exposure to respirable crystalline silica, which is released when silica-containing materials are cut with a powered tool.
Read more: pbctoday.co.uk
The presence of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) at construction sites is raising concerns about its impact on the health of workers. Though governments are targeting the stone masonry industry, and specifically banning dry cutting techniques, new legislations introduced by the Victorian and Queensland governments cover all processes and products that can generate RCS, including plasterboard and plaster-based products.
Read more: architectureanddesign.com.au
A playground installation and landscaping contractor has been fined after failing to provide employees with adequate control measures to prevent exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS).
SSilicosis is as old as sandstone dust: (HAMISH WEIR - UNSPLASH)
Asbestosis and fatal mesothelioma have been known to Australians for decades.
But another lung disease - silicosis - has been killing our stone workers for more than a century.
Read more: abc.net.au
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt. Picture AAP
Lung disease experts have urged the federal government to expedite the establishment of its dust diseases taskforce, to steer a national approach to tackling the silicosis crisis.
They say lack of consistency among the states has hindered attempts to improve medical treatments and provide compensation solutions for victims. Read more: theaustralian.com.au
A parliamentary inquiry investigating the impact that silicosis has on construction workers has been launched.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Respiratory Health and BC&E – a not-for-profit organisation that offers services to construction workers – are seeking to understand why construction workers’ lives are being cut short by this variant of lung disease, caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica.
Read more: personneltoday.com
Rates of severe coal workers' pneumoconiosis -- also known as black lung disease -- among coal miners have been on the rise recently despite regulations on exposure to dusts associated with mining.
Researchers believe the higher rates of more severe lung disease may be due to greater exposure to silica, likely as a byproduct of going after ever-narrowing coal seams that require cutting through more rock to reach. Silica dust is much more toxic to the lungs, but little is known about its contribution to black lung disease at the molecular level, and researchers don't know how silica and coal or other dusts together might interact to influence the development of disease.
Read more: eurekalert.org
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