Australia has taken a major step towards a world-first total ban on engineered stone products in response to rising rates of silicosis from dry-cutting silica products commonly used in kitchen and bathroom benches.
On Tuesday the work health and safety ministers of all states and territories unanimously agreed to ask Safe Work Australia to prepare a plan to ban the products, the federal workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, revealed.
The decision to bring forward planning by six months follows a warning by the powerful construction union in November that it would ban the use, manufacture and importation of engineered stone by 1 July 2024 if the government failed to do so.
A final decision is expected in the latter half of this year, with a ban to come into effect 12 months later.
Safety regulators in the UK, US and Canada have warned that respirable crystalline silica is a cause of silicosis, a serious and irreversible lung disease that can cause permanent disability and early death.
Australia would be the first country in the world to ban the product, although New Zealand has said it may follow suit.
Earlier in February, the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said his government would “respond as quickly as we can” to calls to ban engineered stone.
On Tuesday Burke told reporters in Canberra that “silica has the risk of becoming the new asbestos”.
“The number of Australians with silicosis keeps rising,” Burke told Radio National. “This is part of the cause. If you could easily regulate it, you wouldn’t be considering a ban at all.”
Burke said that would include determining what percentage of silica in stone would be banned.
“If you’re talking about kitchen, bathroom benchtops, some of them go up to 95% silica. Others can be as low as 40%, lower than ordinary stone,” he said.
“Safe Work Australia have the expertise to work through exactly where the line should be drawn.
“But wherever that line is drawn, it has to be drawn on the side of people being able to go to work and come home without a terminal illness.”
One estimate from Curtin University puts the number of silicosis cases between 80,000 and 100,000, with about 600,000 workers exposed to the potentially deadly dust each year.
Caesarstone, a manufacturer of engineered stone, has argued that working with its products can be done safely in certain conditions, such as wet-cutting.
Over the weekend, it took out full-page ads in some metro newspapers advocating alternatives to a ban, such as a licensing scheme to work with engineered stone products.
Working with engineered stone is safe, provided the right safety measures are in place. It’s great to see the Victorian Government leading the charge and introducing these measures - Caesarstone is prepared to help ensure a smooth transition to the new model. https://t.co/tjgk1PhRrw
— Caesarstone AU (@CaesarstoneAU) November 15, 2021
But the incoming Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union national secretary, Zach Smith, said Australia cannot “afford to waste another day” before moving to a ban.
“Anything less than a ban sends a signal this product is fine, when in actual fact it’s the asbestos of this generation,” he said in a statement.
“Companies flooding Australia with cheap engineered stone need to be sent the clearest possible message.”
Australia’s dust and diseases taskforce had initially recommended governments implement improved safety measures then start considering a ban in July 2024 if rates of silicosis did not improve.
