Australia is the first jurisdiction in the world to ban the use of engineered stone in response to an epidemic of silicosis suffered by workers exposed to fine respirable silica dust.

Engineered stone is commonly used as a less expensive alternative to marble and granite to make kitchen and bathroom countertops. Engineered stone often contains significantly higher levels
of silica (more than 90 per cent) than granite (less than 40 per cent) and marble (less than 5 per cent). Workers who fabricate and finish these products can be exposed to extreme volumes of fine respirable silica dust (RSD).

Airborne silica dust is easily inhaled into the lungs causing inflammation and scarring. This exposure has been linked with a range of health outcomes including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), kidney disease and most commonly silicosis—an incurable, progressively disabling and sometimes fatal lung disease. For those working with engineered stone, elevated exposure leads to faster progression of this illness and higher mortality.

No safe level of exposure to silica

The Australian ban on the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels or slabs containing at least 1 per cent crystalline silica began on July 1, 2024. Suppliers, contractors and consumers are already pivoting to a wide range of alternative materials already on the market including granite, marble, porcelain, concrete, timber and stainless steel. 

The Australian government also introduced a National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry. Physicians must report cases of silicosis. Reporting other occupational and respiratory diseases to the national registry is not mandatory, but strongly encouraged with patient consent. According to the government, this will provide a better understanding of how widespread occupational respiratory diseases are and help support earlier detection of silicosis along with intervention and prevention. 

California has also introduced new obligations to protect workers through an emergency temporary standard on silica hazards for those who handle engineered stone that went into effect on December 29, 2023. While it is not a ban it does mandate specific controls along with training about the new protection obligations in language understood by workers.

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Debilitating and lethal health outcomes

Workers Health & Safety Centre first reported on engineered stone in 2020 citing research that examined six cases of silicosis from a single stone countertop fabrication company in California, four cases from one workplace in Texas and a single case in Washington State. Seven additional cases from Colorado were also included. In 11 of the 18 cases analyzed, workers were under 50 years of age and the disease was defined as severe and progressive. In one case, the worker had performed stone fabrication for just two years. Two of the workers died at age 38 and 36, after working respectively just nine and 13 years in the sector.

A study published in July, 2023 entitled, Silicosis Among Immigrant Engineered Stone Countertop Fabrication Workers in California cited 52 male patients diagnosed with silicosis caused by occupational exposure to respirable silica dust from engineered stone. The median work tenure was 15 years. Of these patients, 20 suffered progressive massive fibrosis, 11 needed lung transplants and 10 died due to their exposures. 
 
Most recently, in a May 27, 2024, press release, the Australian government explained one in four engineered stone workers employed in the industry prior to 2018 have been diagnosed with silicosis or other silica-dust-related diseases. Equally troubling the government suggested, “This number is predicted to rise but the total number of workers who have silicosis and other dust diseases in Australia is currently unknown.”  

Limited protections in Ontario

To date, the Ontario government has not introduced any new regulatory action to address this serious occupational hazard. In an alert published in October 2023, they acknowledge the issue as a “growing worldwide concern” and further comment “worker exposure to crystalline silica when working with stone countertops can rapidly lead to silicosis, an incurable, disabling and often fatal lung disease.”
 
Existing employer obligations to address silica are outlined in Ontario’s Designated Substances Regulation (O. Reg. 490) including the need to carry out a hazard assessment and if workers are likely to be exposed, developing a comprehensive control program ensuring worker’s airborne exposure to silica is reduced to the lowest practical level and does not exceed the occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 0.1 mg/m³ (quartz). This control program must also include medical surveillance, procedures to monitor airborne concentrations and worker exposure, along with training for supervisors and workers.

Furthermore, if silica is present in the workplace, the employer must establish a joint health and safety committee (JHSC)—regardless of the size of the workforce [s. 9(2)(c), OHSA]. The employer must consult with the JHSC when assessing the hazard and developing the control program. This has relevance to the many stone countertop fabrication workplaces that are small-scale though no less dangerous than larger operations. Of course, there are specific obligations relating to the certification of JHSC members to prepare them to play an informed role.

Scientists, researchers, worker representatives and many others are calling on regulators in Europe, North America and elsewhere to follow Australia’s lead and implement similar bans on engineered stone.
 
In the absence of an outright ban here in Ontario and to protect workers in many other industries exposed to silica, many are calling on the government to lower the OEL to 0.025 mg/m³ (quartz)—the level currently recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists and already adopted by most other Canadian provinces and the federal government. Further still, are calls for a targeted awareness and enforcement initiative to ensure stone fabrication employers understand the significant health hazard associated with their business and their prevention obligations set out in law.

WHSC can help

Workers Health & Safety Centre (WHSC) can assist employers in Ontario’s stone countertop fabrication industry and many other industries where silica is a common hazard with related training obligations, including WHMIS and Certification for JHSC members.

Related resources:
Australia bans work on engineered stone to prevent exposure to silica
Australia’s National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry
Silicosis Among Immigrant Engineered Stone (Quartz) Countertop Fabrication Workers in California
Silica exposure during countertop manufacturing and installing (Ontario Silica Alert)
Lung disease linked to stone countertop fabrication
Should engineered stone products be banned?
WHSC silica fact sheet

Need more information?
Contact a WHSC training services representative in your area.
Email: contactus@whsc.on.ca
Visit: whsc.on.ca
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