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 silicosis.
The worktops, popular in kitchen refurbishments, are cheaper than granite or marble.
Engineered from one of the hardest minerals on earth, they are typically composed of about 90 per cent ground quartz, and 10 per cent resins and pigments.
When prepared for installation, they are also often ‘dry’ cut and polished with an angle grinder or other hand tools without the use of water to suppress dust generation, further boosting the volume of fine dust.
Last year, eight men were referred to a specialist occupational lung disease clinic, aged between 27 and 56 at the time of diagnosis.
Mr Marzec, who is originally from Poland, has worked for several engineered stone manufacturers in north London and Hertfordshire since 2012. He was diagnosed with silicosis in April 2024.
Two were being assessed for lung transplants, three for an autoimmune disease and two for opportunistic lung infection caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria when the disease was uncovered.
Exposure to stone dust averaged 12.5 years but was anywhere between four and 40 years, with all men working for small companies of under ten employees.
Although none worked in worktop manufacture or installation they all carried out the ‘finishing’ process, specifically cutting and polishing the worktops before installation.
They all reported that this was done without consistent water suppression and without what they felt was appropriate respiratory protection.
Even where workshop ventilation was present, the men stated that the system had not been serviced or cleaned regularly. None of them was aware of active airborne dust monitoring in the workplace
Now, the total toll of patients is reported to have reached 18.
The head of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), the chartered society for workplace protection, has described the workplaces engineering the stone as ‘sweatshops’ which he said endangered workers by flouting safety rules.
In August, doctors treating the rising number of patients in The Royal Brompton hospital in London called for a ban of the material.
Marek Marzec was left terminally ill at 48 after spending a decade working with quartz worktops at a stone manufacturer. His family have since confirmed his death
Writing in the British Medical Journal’s Thorax, they wrote: ‘Onset of disease is likely to relate to exposure levels, suggesting levels, at least for some of the UK cases…were extremely high and implying that employers failed to control dust exposure and to adhere to health and safety regulations.
‘The market is dominated by small companies in which regulation has been shown to be challenging to implement. Furthermore, at least some worktop manufacturers may fail to provide adequate technical information relating to potential risks.
‘Even with cessation of exposure, disease progression has been noted in over 50 per cent of cases over [an average] of 4 years. Prevention of disease is therefore critical.’
These calls are backed by a second study published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, which stated the substance could be gradually phased out.
The researchers wrote: ‘In the meantime, all possible control measures should be taken to keep exposures to [respirable crystalline silica] as low as possible.
‘We believe that this proposal is proportionate and would protect the health of European workers and other workers from across the globe, while encouraging the industry to continue to develop safer products.’
Lung disease expert Dr Johanna Feary, who is currently treating patients with the condition, said there is ‘no good treatment’ for the deadly disease.
‘Diagnosis can be devastating. It is affecting young men, many of whom have only worked with this material for a few years,’ she told The Sun.
Speaking from his hospital bed in October, tragic victim Marek Marzec, said:’I arrived in the UK hoping to build a better life and wanting to make sure that my young daughters were financially secure.
‘Instead, because of the work I did cutting quartz worktops, I have been left unable to breathe and in terrible pain.
‘I cannot tell you how angry I am that I was allowed to work in these conditions and that my life has been cut short simply for doing my job.
‘I am not the only person whose life has been put at risk by this lethal dust.
‘It is time for urgent action to stop these dangerous working conditions I had to face before other stone workers contract this terrible disease and die.’
In a statement published in August, a spokesperson from the Government’s Health and Safety Executive said: ‘Our sympathies are with those who have lost loved ones to any work-related disease.
‘Great Britain has a robust and well-established regulatory framework in place to protect workers from the health risks associated with exposure to hazardous substances.
‘We continue to work with industry to raise awareness of managing the risks of exposure to respirable crystalline silica and we are considering options for future interventions to ensure workers are protected.’
