Workers paying the ultimate price as intervention comes too late

QUEENSLAND workers are being struck down in shocking numbers by a previously unknown deadly disease and while state intervention has been welcomed, it is too late for many victims.

FAKE granite and marble weren’t around when Garry Moratti began working as a stonemason 35 years ago. But he worked almost exclusively with artificial stone after it was introduced to Australia in the early 2000s.

“It was put to us that it was a new material that was stronger than marble and granite, easier to work with, and obviously cheaper for the customer,” says Moratti.

Two years ago, Moratti collapsed at work and was rushed to hospital. He was later diagnosed with potentially deadly silicosis.

The 50-year-old grandfather and father-of-three from Eagleby, north of the Gold Coast, is on workers’ compensation, battling depression and anxiety, and fearful for his family’s future.

While it came too late for him, he welcomes the Palaszczuk Government’s recent decision to ban dry-cutting of engineered stone benchtops, which exposes workers to silicosis.

Gary Moratti of Eagleby is a victim of Silicosis. Pictured with grandson Frank. (AAP Image/Richard Waugh)

“It had to be stopped because it’s killing people. It (silica dust) is similar to asbestos but worse because it affects people much faster. I honestly don’t understand how the Government can even let this stuff into the country.”

Moratti says while he and his workmates wore masks, silica dust was so fine “it would clog the mask really quickly and slip under the sides”.

“When you were in the workshop, you were covered with dust,” he says.

Currently, 10 Queensland fabrication plants use the hugely popular household building product, crudely described as “fake stone”.

Workers will spend hours cutting and polishing engineered stone slabs into benchtops destined for kitchens and bathrooms around the state. Man-made stone’s soaring popularity is largely to do with its price tag — it is far cheaper than natural granite or marble while achieving a similar high-end look.

But it comes with a potentially fatal cost for the workers. Fake stone benchtops can contain up to 95 per cent crystalline silica, compared to as little as 20 per cent of the same mineral in natural stone, such as granite. It is fine if left undisturbed, but becomes a health risk when the fake stone slabs are cut or grinded unsafely.

Investigators sent in by the State Government last year to audit 10 Queensland fabrication businesses using the product were shocked to discover workers cutting into the fake stone without any protective gear. Some workers were found without proper breathing masks in poorly ventilated rooms.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland officers also witnessed the stone being cut dry (without the use of water suppression). That is despite prior advice that breathing in respirable crystalline silica dust puts workers at risk of the irreversible lung disease silicosis.

The inspectors immediately stopped the risky practices, issuing 28 statutory notices for safety breaches, including prohibition notices to halt unsafe work. But medical tests show that for 26 workers from the 10 workplaces screened after the six-month audit began last November, the intervention is too late.

They have been diagnosed with silicosis and have lodged compensation claims with WorkCover Queensland. The victims include another Gold Coast tradie, Anthony White, 36, who was diagnosed with silicosis last year.

Anthony White, 36, needs a double lung transplant after being diagnosed with silicosis. Picture by Luke Marsden.

“I had a chest infection that wouldn’t go away and mum noticed I was losing a lot of weight,” White says. “When I went to the doctor, they sent me for all kinds of test and chest X-rays, and diagnosed me with silicosis.”

Wearing protective gear wasn’t policed at any of his workplaces, White says. “There was so much dust flying around, you could feel the grit on your teeth and taste the dust in your mouth, but I didn’t think it was a problem. I had no idea it could make you this sick.”

The surge in silicosis claims compares to just one claim in 2015 and no claims in 2016.

Six of the cases are already in the advanced stage of silicosis (progressive massive fibrosis) — when sufferers most commonly succumb to the disease.

And that number is expected to grow over coming months.

One victim is as young as 27, according to Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace, who describes the spike in claims as “alarming”. She says the alarm was sounded as soon as she was briefed on the rise in compensation claims almost two weeks ago, triggering an urgent health alert, written warnings to employers and other compliance action.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young.

Another 150 businesses working with the product will be audited by the end of the year and could face prosecution if it can be shown they failed to provide a safe workplace.

“We were surprised by the practice at the 10 workplaces, the lack of ventilation, the lack of personal protective equipment that was provided and, of course, the continuing number of dry-cutting and grinding that is occurring in these workplaces, which we have prohibited,” Grace says. “It’s very alarming and we acted very quickly.”

The prognosis can be grim for those in the late stages of the disease. Some victims can live for years after diagnosis if removed from the dust exposure, Queensland radiologist Dr Katrina Newbigin says. But it is also the stage associated with death, or the need for serious surgery, such as a lung transplant.

The health warnings about engineered stone extend beyond the workshop. It can also be a household hazard if unsafely cut up as part of DIY projects.

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young says anyone who fears they have been exposed in their own home should seek medical advice.

Dust disease lawyer Roger Singh, from litigation firm Shine Lawyers, which is representing silicosis victims, praises the State Government’s clampdown but says more needs to be done.

“Every state should follow Queensland’s example,” he says. “We do not want another asbestos-type epidemic terrorising the health of our nation’s stonemasons.”

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