Silica in the News
The initiatives announced today by the State government fail to respond to the dramatic nature of the problem of workers dying from silicosis caused by the dust created from cutting manufactured stone.
The Government’s proposed changes include reducing the recommended exposure level of silica dust, $1,000 safety rebates to companies and increased penalties. Read more: miragenews.com
Crystalline silica is found in concrete, stone, sand and mortar and is also used to make a number of products.
When these are cut, crushed, drilled, polished, sawed or ground, dust particles are created which are small enough to attach in someone's lungs, SafeWork NSW's guidelines state. Read more: au.news.yahoo.com
The spotlight is on New Zealand's benchtop making industry as authorities respond to a deadly lung disease caused by cutting into stone with high levels of silica dust.
1 NEWS can reveal more than 100 enforcement actions have been taken against Kiwi businesses since alarms were raised in Australia, where there have been several deaths. Read more: tvnz.co.nz
The NSW government will move to halve the allowable amount of silica in manufactured stone from 0.1 mg per cubic metre to 0.05 mg, Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson will announce on Friday after a series of deaths from the disease silicosis.
The move follows Victorian and Queensland crackdowns on the cutting techniques around the stone and comes as the Greens call for a ban on the use of manufactured stone in NSW altogether. Read more: theaustralian.com.au
NSW Better Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson. Picture: AAP
MANUFACTURED stone used in kitchens should be banned, says a senior Hunter respiratory clinician as a new report reveals screening of manufactured stone workers for deadly silicosis has missed 40 per cent of cases.
Banning is "probably what should happen" said Dr Geoff Tyler, who has seen up to 18 new cases of silicosis each month this year in his role as a medical advisory member of icare, the former NSW Dust Diseases Authority. Read more: newcastleherald.com.au
Chest X-rays on workers exposed to dust from manufactured stone are "failing to reliably detect" serious lung disease, with one study showing X-rays overlooked disease in more than 40 per cent of workers.
The Royal College of Radiologists revealed the position in a statement on Friday and "strongly recommended" CT scanning for the screening of workers at risk of occupational lung disease such as silicosis. Read more: smh.com.au
WorkSafe ACT has audited 15 stone-cutting and stone benchtop manufacturing businesses and issued six improvement notices as new cases emerge across Australia of accelerated silicosis from exposure to silica dust, a lung disease which often is fatal.
At least 260 cases have been reported across Australia, including 23 in NSW and one in Canberra. Read more: the-riotact.com
Engineered stone, made of ground quartz and resin, has become a tremendously popular material for kitchen countertops due to its durability, low maintenance and customizable colors and patterns. Workers who form, shape, cut and polish the material, however, appear to be at significant risk of severe and potentially deadly lung disease. In this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers from California, Colorado, Texas and Washington report 18 cases of severe silicosis, and two fatalities, among young, mostly Hispanic men, who worked at engineered stone fabrication plants. Read more: medicalpress.com
Considerable efforts are underway to raise awareness about the deadly lung disease "silicosis."
Yesterday we reported that New South Wales Greens MP David Shoebridge is seeking a ban on the manufacture of the fake stone implicated in the condition. Read more: abc.net.au
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers is supporting calls in NSW to ban manufactured stone to protect workers from developing life-threatening silicosis in recognition that experts have concluded there is no safe level of exposure to silica dust. Read more: miragenews.com
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