Australia is facing an epidemic of silicosis, a fatal, but preventable, lung disease caused by exposure to high levels of silica dust.
The Curtin University study, released this week, confirms that while engineered stone – used mainly for kitchen benchtops – is a potent source of silica dust, silica is also found naturally in building and construction products including sand, soil, stone, concrete and mortar, as well as bricks, tiles and glass.
Risks associated with silica dust: not just confined to engineered stone
AWU national secretary, Dan Walton said, "while those in the engineered stone sector must be protected, they were the tip of the silicosis iceberg."
“About 600,000 Australian workers are exposed to silica dust,” Mr Walton said. “Stonemasons make up 4400, or less than 1 per cent, of that total.
“Workers are exposed to silica dust in tunnelling, quarrying, cement work, mining, construction, and other industries and must be given equal consideration when it comes to action to protect workers from silica dust.
“We will see a tsunami of silicosis in the coming years and decades if swift preventative, regulatory and compensatory measures are not quickly adopted by governments around the nation to protect workers from exposure to silica dust.”
The National Dust Diseases Taskforce's final report expressly accepted extensive evidence and recommended systemic change to improve protection for all people working in all dust-generating industries.
Victoria’s OHS regulations were updated last year, to provide greater protection to all Victorian employees working with respirable crystalline silica.
The Curtin study notes that for the past 60 years silicosis had been very rare in Australia, but it had since reemerged and up to 103,000 workers will now be diagnosed with silicosis as the result of their current exposure to silica dust.
“Curtin University agrees, that more than half a million Australian workers are facing silica dust exposure across various industries including construction, mining and quarrying, and manufacturing jobs,” Mr Walton says.
Currently, worker protections vary across industries and Australian states and territories.
Siobhann Provost
Senior Writer, My Business
Siobhann has over 18 years human resources business partnering experience in large organisations. She more recently established and led a people advice team of senior workplace advisors before moving into content writing.
