Engineered stone and the rise of silicosis diagnoses

In recent months, the Leigh Day Industrial Disease Team has seen an increase in enquiries from people who have been diagnosed with silicosis, a type of lung disease, arising from exposure to silica dust, due to their work with engineered stone. In this blog Ewan Tant, Partner, and Andrew Cooper, Senior Associate, in the Leigh Day industrial disease team, explain what silicosis is and the dangers posed by engineered stone.

We have recently started to represent a ‘new wave’ of workers diagnosed with silicosis, after they were exposed to silica dust whilst cutting or drilling artificial stone, also known as engineered stone, which is used in quartz kitchen worktops. This has led to an increase in the diagnosis of the lung disease condition silicosis across the country.

From our extensive work for those affected by asbestos-related diseases we have seen how devastating such lung disease conditions can be and how important it is that people are protected from inhaling such dangerous dust. It is crucial that safety measures are enforced to ensure the number of silicosis cases does not continue to rise. If not, we fear that there will be a great number of workers left with life-changing, and potentially fatal, consequences.

What is silicosis?  

Silicosis is an irreversible lung condition caused by inhaling large amounts of silica dust over a prolonged period. Silica is a common, natural material found in stones, rocks, clay, and sand as well as products such as bricks, tiles, concrete, and some plastic composites. Once inside the lungs, the silica dust particles are attacked by the immune system which causes inflammation and scarring of the lung tissue.

The workers we have represented have been exposed to silica dust through cutting kitchen worktops and have developed an acute form of silicosis. This causes significant shortness of breath and severe disability, with lung transplantation often being the only potential treatment. In the worst cases it can be fatal. 

What is engineered stone? 

In recent years engineered stone has become a popular choice for kitchen worktops – these are often called quartz worktops. Unlike natural stone products, such as marble and granite, quartz worktops are made by compressing and compacting raw materials together into slabs, which are then heated at high temperatures. It has been reported that quartz kitchen worktops contain over 90% silica, whereas granite contains approximately half the silica content. 

While quartz worktops are a cheaper alternative for the consumer, they have the potential to pose a greater risk to the workers who cut, grind and polish the slabs before they are installed, due to the higher levels of fine silica dust they may be exposed to if they do not have the correct protective equipment. The rise in the use of engineered stone has led to an increase in workers developing silicosis. 

Who is at risk of silicosis? 

The Leigh Day Industrial Disease Team are acting for a number of workers who have developed silicosis due to cutting engineered stone without the appropriate protective equipment. Our clients have described appalling working conditions, where they use handheld electric grinders to cut and polish the stone in a dust-filled room with no windows, no effective dust extraction equipment or respirators. The evidence we have gathered so far points to a growing problem with small companies operating without regard to appropriate health and safety practices. However, we fear this issue may become more widespread in the future and that cases may arise from larger operations and other kitchen fitting companies. 

How can workers be protected from the dangers of silicosis? 

The associated danger between dust and lung disease has been known for over a century. Whilst health and safety protection in the UK has improved over this time, workers are still being exposed to harmful dusts and are developing silicosis regardless.