A New Danger !

One of the attractions in modern display homes and a big feature in the home renovation trade is the use of artificial stone benchtops in kitchens.  Today, the kitchen is a featured selling point in a home and we have moved past the stage where Laminex  covering will meet the discerning inspection of prospective buyers.

The problem is that much of this material is dry cut in the workshops that produce material for the building trade and we are starting to see the emergence of a deadly disease that is similar to what happens when users are exposed to asbestos.   The only difference is that asbestos related diseases take thirty to forty years to impact on health, silica dust released by the dry cutting of artificial stone appear in less than half that time lag.

We are starting to see young men who work in fitting artificial stone suffering autoimmune disease in their twenties, thirties and forties and this manifests itself by affecting joining tissue in the joints, lungs and skin.   We are facing an epidemic of silicosis bringing with it early death and a demand for items such as lung transplants.

This has so alarmed the government that from July 1 the dry cutting of artificial stone has been banned and silicosis will become a notifiable disease with all cases listed on a single register.  The firms that process artificial stone will need to install wet cutting procedures and ensure that no silica dust escapes into the air to gain access to the airways of workers.

The problem area is the " do it yourself " home renovation trade.  Artificial stone is not difficult to cut using abrasive tools and if that is not a wet process it is inevitable that silica dust will find its way into people's bodies. Items such as benchtops are usually available ready to install from hardware suppliers and if the worker needs to make small cuts to ensure a tight fit that is all that is required for dust release to induce silicosis.

Until now, silica dust has been regarded as harmless but now that artificial stone has become a leading feature of kitchen design we are beginning to realise  just what sort of monster fashion has thrust into the building trade.   There are still many older tradesmen who disregard the dangers of asbestos and there is little doubt that they will continue to cut artificial stone without adapting a wet process.  A government ordinance will have little effect beyond the big cutting shops that process the bulk of artificial stone.

Asbestos is present in all the homes built in Australia before the 1980's when it was banned.  It will still go on killing well into the next century.   In contrast artificial stone is a relatively new product and we need to spell out the danger before it gains even wider use !