A recent study by Monash University has revealed a disturbing spike in silicosis cases among Victorian workers involved in the fabrication and installation of artificial stone benchtops.
This surge comes as Australia implements a world-first importation ban on engineered stone, effective January 2025.
The research, led by Dr Ryan Hoy from the Monash Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, confirms the alarming scale of the silicosis outbreak.
Published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, the study investigated changes in silicosis rates in Victoria and their association with the stone benchtop industry.
Since mid-2019, the Victorian government has provided stone benchtop workers with access to health screenings, which has been crucial in identifying affected workers and understanding the magnitude of the outbreak.
The study analysed workers’ compensation claims for silicosis from 1991 to 2022 and a clinical registry of new silicosis cases diagnosed by respiratory physicians from May 2019 to December 2022.
Key findings reveal that over a 32-year period, there were 536 workers’ compensation claims for silicosis, with 90 per cent of these claims received between 2015 and 2022 — a staggering 27-fold increase from the previous eight-year period.
The incidence rate for silicosis claims in the adult population rose from 0.12 per 100,000 in 1991-1998 to 2.38 per 100,000 in 2015-2022.
The clinical registry identified 210 patients diagnosed with silicosis between May 2019 and December 2022.
Alarmingly, 22 per cent of these patients were diagnosed with advanced complicated silicosis.
The vast majority (97 per cent) of patients worked in the stone benchtop industry, with 95 per cent primarily working with artificial stone.
Dr Hoy emphasised the concerning implications for other countries where engineered stone is popular but worker screening is not implemented.
He stated: “These results suggest that in those regions, there are highly likely to be a very large number of undiagnosed workers.”
The Australian government’s decision to ban engineered stone is a significant step in protecting workers.
However, Dr Hoy cautioned that due to two decades of exposure to highly dangerous conditions, workers will remain at risk for decades to come.
As the stone benchtop industry is a multi-billion-dollar sector employing hundreds of thousands of workers internationally, this study provides further justification for Australia’s prohibition of engineered stone.
The government-funded screening of stone benchtop workers has been crucial in revealing the magnitude of this silicosis outbreak, and other countries where this material has become popular should consider implementing similar measures.
The national import ban on engineered stone products containing more than 1 per cent silica content took effect on January 1, 2025, complementing the domestic ban on use, supply, and manufacture that began on July 1, 2024.
These measures aim to safeguard workers from the devastating effects of silicosis and underscore Australia’s commitment to occupational health and safety.
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