Unions say the popularity of engineered stone kitchen benchtops is risking lives for a "fashionable finish", as the push intensifies for a ban on those containing deadly silica.
Products with high silica levels - commonly used in kitchen and bathroom benches - have been linked to the incurable lung disease silicosis and cancer.
Medical professionals, health and safety experts and unions are stepping up their campaign for a national ban regardless of silica concentration, saying there is no safe level of exposure.
In submissions made to Safe Work Australia on Thursday, the groups also recommended a licensing scheme for the safe handling or removal of all existing benchtops, and a national register for tradies dealing with manufactured stone to be screened for silicosis.
ACTU assistant secretary Liam O'Brien described engineered stone as a "fashion product that is killing the workers who make it".
"With alternatives readily available, why are we risking the lives of tradies for a fashionable finish in our kitchens?" he asked.
Inhaling crystalline silica dust while cutting, grinding or drilling the engineered stone can lead to silicosis.
The ACTU said the latest research revealed one in four stonemasons who work with engineered stone products has contracted the deadly lung disease.
Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union (CFMEU) national secretary Zach Smith said if the government failed to ban the benchtops by mid-2024, unions would be forced to "take matters into our own hands on-site".
"We've set a deadline,'' Mr Smith said.
"Either the minister steps up and fixes this by mid-2024, or our members will just refuse to touch these benchtops on construction sites across Australia.''
He said some companies would try to water down regulations, but he urged the government to hold firm.
"These companies have been allowed to squeeze profits from the blood of Australian workers for decades. They must not be given another inch now," Mr Smith said.
Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has given Safe Work until August to outline the implications of a potential ban on engineered stone.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry opposes a blanket ban on engineered stone, as well as a licensing scheme for suppliers, saying all products have some level of risk.
The Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists supported the ban, saying it is not possible to determine a safe amount of crystalline silica.
Professor Dino Pisaniello, from the University of Adelaide's School of Public Health, said there is "no definitive scientific evidence" that health risks decreased with lower crystalline silica content.
"Dust particles less than one micrometre in size, whether from high or low silica materials, appear to generate the most inflammation in the lung, and are also the hardest to control in the workplace," she said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said Labor would introduce the ban on engineered stone products by July next year to be part of a co-ordinated national approach.
He said failing that, he would partner with other states and territories, or NSW would take action alone if necessary.
"It's important we roll out that policy change, and the minister responsible will be doing that in the coming months," Mr Minns said in Sydney on Thursday.
Mr Burke said ministers would next meet on the issue after the release of the report by the work safety watchdog.
