The Dust of Death

The dust from cutting engineered stone for Australian kitchens and bathrooms is killing our tradies. Engineered stone — a composite material used as an inexpensive alternative to natural marble or granite — is not hazardous in the home in day-to-day use. But when it is cut, ground, sanded, polished or shaped without appropriate safety procedures, it exposes workers to fine particles called crystalline silica.

When inhaled, crystalline silica can lodge deep in the lungs and cause the deadly disease silicosis — a condition eerily similar to that caused by asbestos in generations past. Young stonemasons were being diagnosed with an advanced, rapidly progressing form of the disease that was killing them in their thirties and forties.

Adele Ferguson's investigation, published in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald and broadcast on 60 Minutes, drew on interviews with affected workers and their families, medical experts, and industry insiders who described a sector that had known about the risks for years but had failed to adequately protect its workers.

The investigation found that the industry's rapid growth — driven by the popularity of engineered stone benchtops in Australian homes — had outpaced the regulatory framework designed to protect workers. Safety standards existed on paper, but enforcement was inadequate and many small businesses were unaware of or ignoring the requirements.

The human cost was devastating. Young men who had spent their careers crafting beautiful kitchens and bathrooms were dying of a preventable disease. Their families were left to cope with the loss of breadwinners in the prime of their lives.

The investigation prompted the government to announce a ban on engineered stone — the first country in the world to do so. The ban came into effect in July 2024, ending the use of the deadly material in Australian workplaces.