The federal government needs to ban engineered stone imports otherwise more workers will needlessly die, a union says.
More than 600 workers in NSW, Victoria and Queensland have silicosis, a long-term lung disease caused by inhaling large amounts of silica dust.
Engineered stone, used mainly for kitchen benchtops, is a particularly potent source of the dust, which is also found in building and construction products.
The Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union is calling on the federal government to ban imports of engineered stone by July 2024.
If the government doesn't enforce the ban, the union will implement its own by encouraging workers to take industrial action instead of using the stone product.
"The time for talk is over and the time for action is now," secretary Zac Smith told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday.
"This is the asbestos of the 2000s."
Victoria and Queensland have already banned dry-cutting engineered stone, while the ACT and NSW are considering following suit.
At the federal level, the former coalition government last year received a report recommending the import of some or all engineered stone products should be banned from July 2024.
