Unions are calling for a ban on trendy fake stone worktops to prevent more deaths from a lethal lung disease called artificial stone silicosis. At least 18 cases have been identified in the UK, with the youngest victim just 24 years old.
TRENDY fake stone worktops should be banned to prevent more deaths among young people, unions have demanded. The engineered surfaces have already been linked to more than a dozen UK cases of a lethal lung disease called artificial stone So far, at least 18 UK cases of this new aggressive form of engineered stone silicosis have been identified, the youngest in a man aged just 24.
Trendy kitchen worktops 'trigger deadly disease' and must be banned, docs say Despite the health risks, demand for engineered stone in the UK continues to grow, particularly for kitchen and bathroom renovations, as it mimics marble or granite at a lower cost.Shelly Asquith, health and safety policy officer at the federation of Trade Unions, said current exposure limits for silica dust have been set 'far too high'. 'Research shows if we were to halve the amount of dust workers were legally allowed to be exposed to, it would prevent hundreds of deaths.Signs you lack vitamins after rise in hospital admissions for deficiencies 'Britain must go further still in prioritising the health of workers and ban the use of high silica engineered stone which, as the tragic and preventable deaths show, can be lethal.'He described the dust he inhaled while cutting quartz kitchen worktops as leaving him 'unable to breathe' and in 'terrible pain.' Earlier this year, Malik Al-Khalil, 28, contracted silicosis after five years of cutting quartz worktops in London. He told the i that doctors had warned him he could die after falling seriously ill with the lung disease. Engineered from one of the hardest minerals on earth, quartz worktops typically consist of about 90 per cent ground quartz and 10 per cent resins and pigments. When prepared for installation, they are often 'dry' cut and polished using an angle grinder or other hand tools without water to suppress dust, increasing the amount of fine dust produce
Health Safety Silicosis Quartz Worktops Ban
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