Union leaders are demanding a ban on quartz kitchen worktops in the UK due to their link to a lethal lung disease called artificial stone silicosis. The disease develops when workers inhale toxic silica dust during manufacturing. Two UK men under 50 have already died from the condition, and the Australian government has banned the material.
A popular type of worktop seen in kitchens up and down the country should be banned due to its deadly effects on lung health, union leaders have demanded. Trendy quartz worktops have been linked to 18 UK cases of a lethal lung disease called artificial stone silicosis, which develops when those manufacturing the worktops breathe in toxic silica dust. The youngest case was in a stonemason aged just 24. Two UK men aged under 50 - both stone engineers - have already died from the condition.
The risk of working with the material is such that the Australian Government banned the use, supply and manufacture of the stone in July last year. Now in fresh calls for a UK ban, The Trade Union Congress (TUC), which represents around 5.5million workers, has told The i that stopping manufacturing of quartz in Britain would 'prevent hundreds of deaths'. 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. The above shows a quartz countertop in a kitchen. It releases silicon dust while being cut, which can raise the risk of lung disease for workers '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.' Last month, father-of-three and stonemason Marek Marzec, 48, died after months of receiving end-of-life care for silicosis. Mr Marzec said the dust he inhaled while cutting trendy quartz kitchen worktops has left him 'unable to breathe' and 'in terrible pain'. Meanwhile in May, Wessam al Jundi, 28, died in hospital while waiting for a lung transplant in what is believed to be the first confirmed death from quartz worktop-related silicosi
QUARTZ WORKTOPS SILICOSIS HEALTH SAFETY BAN
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