Kitchen worktop stone ‘must be banned to stop deaths’ after safety alert

MPs and campaigners are demanding tougher measures to protect young tradespeople after the UK’s health and safety watchdog issued a major safety alert about a popular kitchen worktop material.

It the first official guidance for engineered stone, which has been linked to a new aggressive form of the deadly lung disease silicosis, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has warned employers they must prevent workers from breathing in toxic silica dust.

Trendy man-made stone slabs, primarily quartz, have soared in popularity in recent years among homeowners in new kitchen builds and refurbishments.

But the HSE update has sparked fresh calls for a ban on the material following the deaths of young workers who inhaled the toxic dust in British workshops.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Respiratory Health (APPG) welcomed the new guidelines on installing kitchen worktops as “the first step in the right direction”.

But a spokesperson for the group of cross-party MPs told The i Paper: “It is not a big step and it has taken a year to get here. A lot more could be done on this.”

The group said the guidance wouldn’t tackle “rogue traders who will continue to expose workers” to toxic dust when cutting engineered stone – primarily quartz – by flouting safety regulations.

It stressed the deadly nature of the dust created during the cutting of the man-made stone along with the rapid onset of related diseases and called for firmer action to be taken, including the HSE undertaking more inspections of work sites.

In its new guidance, the HSE says worktops should be pre-fabricated so further processing on site is avoided while untrained installers should not be used.

Water suppression of dust, specialised equipment to extract dust and respiratory protective equipment were other measures outlined.

Green Party peer Natalie Bennett, who sits on the APPG, said the update was “implicit, if belated, recognition from the HSE, that there is a serious problem in this area” but that only a ban on engineered stone would fully protect workers.

She said: “Campaigners have been calling for action for years, and since I started asking the former government about the issue last February, the pattern has been only of denial and deflection.

“Accounts of the conditions in which workers have been afflicted, which failed to meet basic safety standards and existing regulations, indicate guidance of this sort is not going to be enough to keep workers safe.

“Australia has banned engineered stone worktops and the UK should follow that lead.”

Silicosis checks for exposed workers should also be standard, she said, adding that HSE calls for health surveillance in at-risk industries appeared “inadequate”.

Kevin Bampton, the chief executive of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), said the guidance was “welcome” but “long-awaited”, adding: “Especially considering the acceleration of silicosis the speed of publishing guidance is critical”.

He said: “I am delighted by the guidance, but they should have acted sooner, we have known about this globally since 2016, we [BOHS] have been campaigning for explicit guidance since 2021.

“It should have happened a good few years ago… We have been screaming at the rafters [for the guidance to be changed]”.

He stressed how the existing regulatory framework around working with engineered stone remains unchanged, even if the guidance has been altered.

“What is new is for HSE to produce such easy-to-read guidance. That is a welcome departure.”

But he continued: “The people who are most at risk are those working for business that do not pay much heed to HSE anyway.”

Silicosis: The deadly lung disease linked to kitchen revamps

Quartz kitchen countertops have soared in popularity across the world in recent years.

But their rise has been blamed for a new wave of silicosis among workers, with Australia becoming the first country to ban engineered stone last year after hundreds of stonemasons contracted the incurable lung disease.

At least 18 cases of silicosis have been diagnosed in UK engineered stone workers since 2023, the youngest aged 24, who inhaled respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust.

The average age of the first eight men diagnosed was 34, with most of them migrants working in small workshops with poor safety measures in place.

In November, father-of-three Marek Marzec, 48, died just weeks after speaking to The i Paper from his London hospital bed, where he was receiving end-of-life care for the deadly lung disease.

His death followed that of Wessam al Jundi, 28, who died in hospital in May while waiting for a lung transplant in what is believed to be the first confirmed death from silicosis in a UK engineered stone worker.

A coroner issued a rare Prevention of Future Death report following Mr al Jundi’s death calling for a “timetable for action” from the HSE and Government departments.

This month, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) called for a UK ban on engineered stone, a demand that came after doctors treating affected patients said a ban must be considered.

The BOHS, the HSE and trade body the Worktop Fabricators Federation have also prepared a separate silica dust awareness tool for stonemasons due to be published this week.

Mike Calcutt, deputy director of health and work at the health watchdog, said on Tuesday: “It’s important that businesses act now to ensure they comply with the law and protect their workers from serious lung diseases.

“HSE’s inspectors have often found poor management of control measures including water suppression, dust extraction, equipment maintenance, cleaning and RPE provision.

“Employers should ensure suitable control measures are properly used and maintained.”