Silica in the News
A dramatic upswing in cases of deadly silica dust disease in NSW has prompted the government to launch a public education blitz about the dangers of working with manufactured stone.
The dust that comes from cutting silica stone, which is commonly used for kitchen benchtops, can cause potentially deadly lung disease.
Read more: smh.com.au
Steve Terpstra knew the dangers of fine concrete particles two decades before the silent killing disease, silicosis, wreaked havoc on tradespeople across Australia.
While rates of the disease have fallen globally, there’s been an alarming spike among Australian tradesmen culminating in at least one death and a class action led by stone masons.
Read more: news.com.au
Western Sydney University graduate Christian Madden has been awarded the Safe Work Australia award for Scholars for Worker Protection – Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists Conference Award in recognition of his research into worker exposure to crystalline silica during the processing of artificial stone.
Read more: miragenews.com
Last fall a series of reports by NPR roiled the quartz industry. Nearly 20 fabrication workers had fallen ill with silicosis—an incurable lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica dust—after working with engineered stone. The risks of cutting quartz under improper conditions have long been known, but the reports brought the consequences of unsafe fabrication to harsh relief. As part of a broader effort to ensure greater workplace safety for fabricators, Israel-based quartz manufacturer Caesarstone is announcing Masters of Stone, an educational initiative with an emphasis on managing the dangers of silica dust.
Read more: businessofhome.com
The CFMEU National Construction Division is calling for urgent national action on silicosis after revelations that 1-in-5 Queensland stone workers tested positive to the potentially fatal disease.
Read more: miragenews.com
A stonemason who contracted a terminal lung disease is suing his former employer, claiming he was exposed to a deadly dust while helping build Parliament House in Canberra.
Frank Scott, 50, has been diagnosed with silicosis, an illness caused by breathing in silica dust. Mr Scott worked grinding, cutting and drilling the marble and granite slabs for R.M. Watson, a company contracted to help construct the new Parliament between 1986 and 1988. Read more: smh.com.au
More Australians will contract a deadly dust-related disease in 2020 if the federal government waits to act on recommendations it received last year, a Brisbane lawyer warns.
Roger Singh from Shine Lawyers has watched his clients fade to "skin and bones" from silicosis, an irreversible lung disease caused by inhalation of silica dust. Read more: brisbanetimes.com.au
The number of registered silicosis cases in Australia have been increasing tremendously. There has been an increase in the number of cases by 100 since September, summing up the total to approximately 350 cases.
Thousands of workers inhaled hazardous quantities of silica during the installation process in the last decade. Read more: thefourpointplay.blog
The number of known silicosis cases in Australia is rapidly climbing.
The latest estimate puts the number of cases at 350 nationwide — about 100 more than in September.
The spike in the sometimes fatal disease is being driven by a trend towards engineered stone kitchen benchtops. Read more: abc.net.au
I had my own concrete cutting business when I first discovered the threat of silicosis. Once I knew the magnitude of the disease - and that the lives of my staff were at risk - I decided I had to act or close my business.
I was prepared to give up my livelihood if a better solution could not be found.
After all, you shouldn't ask your workers to do something you are not prepared to do yourself. Read more: greatlakesadvocate.com.au
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