18 March 2024

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) has called for the new Government of Aotearoa New Zealand to take urgent action to address the health risks of engineered stone, warning lives are at risk where the country lags behind Australia in protection of young workers.

In December the Australian Government announced a ban on the material, which is commonly used for kitchen and bathroom benchtops and has caused serious illness and death in workers.

Silica dust from engineered stone has been proven to cause the lung disease silicosis, as well as cancer and kidney, autoimmune and heart diseases.

Dr Alexandra Muthu, RACP spokesperson and Co-Chair of the multi-agency National Dust Diseases TaskForce which advises the Government, said an estimated 1,000 former and current stonemasons in Aotearoa New Zealand were at risk.

“We are currently failing to respond to a health crisis that is entirely preventable – the Government must act now to stop ongoing serious health harms from engineered stone, just as they needed to act urgently with asbestos,” Dr Muthu said.

The RACP has written to the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden, Leader of the Opposition Chris Hipkins, and Co-leaders of the Green Party Marama Davidson and James Shaw, asking that the Government:

• Introduce a ban on the use of engineered stone, or implement rigorous controls of engineered stone importers and fabricators
• Establish an official Registry of people with workplace silica dust exposure to allow long-term follow-up and support

“The current safety mechanisms that are meant to protect workers from the dangers of engineered stone dust have failed, and workers continue to be exposed to dangerous dusts every day. There has been a lack of leadership focused on transforming the ongoing poor workplace health and wellbeing statistics in Aotearoa. Clinical experts have not been provided the scope or funding to act in the best interests of workers and to help lead system reform.” Dr Muthu said.

One investigation by WorkSafe found that more than 90% of stone fabrication businesses were ignoring safety guidelines and failing to properly protect their workers from toxic silica dust.

“Respirable silica dust particles are invisible to the naked eye, but for exposed workers they can lead to an early death,” Dr Muthu said, “Silicosis is an irreversible, debilitating and potentially fatal lung disease that no one should have to suffer through when it is entirely within the power of the Government to prevent it.”

RACP clinicians in Aotearoa New Zealand advise that:

• It is estimated around 1000 current and former stonemasons are at risk
• A 3-year investigation by WorkSafe New Zealand showed that more than 90% of 126 stone fabricator businesses checked were ignoring the safety guidelines and failed to properly protect workers from toxic silica dust
• More than one in four who worked with the benchtops in Australia before 2018 had already developed silicosis and related diseases
• If Aotearoa New Zealand has a similar rate, about 250 of the 1000-person workforce could have already developed dust-related diseases
• Just like with asbestos dust, some silica-dust diseases take years to develop after the exposure (disease latency), so the true health harms from current exposure will be much higher and won’t be known for decades
• There is no National Occupational Health Unit responsible for regular follow-up of exposed workers, and no Registry to track these people over time, so they will be lost to recommended follow-up
• There is a need for a Chief Clinical Advisor in Occupational Health & Wellbeing to the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety to provide expert clinical guidance