No more talk, it’s time to act on Australia’s silicosis crisis

In Queensland alone, there have been 164 workers compensation claims for silicosis from stonemasons. The issue has been out in the open for over three years - the time for action is now.

It’s been seven months now since Australia lost its first stonemason for simply doing the job he was employed to do – cutting engineered stone.

At 36, Anthony White should have been in the prime of his life. A Gold Coast tradesman who loved fishing and his family, Anthony’s lungs had been filled by deadly silica dust over years of fabricating kitchen benchtops and bathroom vanities.

Anthony White, 36, died from silicosis. Picture by Luke Marsden.

A quiet and kind young man, who I was honoured to represent as a client, his death was without doubt one of the saddest days in my 20 years of practice in dust diseases litigation.

I don’t say this lightly as I have witnessed scores of workers battle life-threatening asbestos-related diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma, as well as coal miners inflicted with the scourge of black lung disease. Damaged men gasping for breath and haunted by what lies ahead.

The asbestos legacy tragically lives on with 700 mesothelioma diagnoses each year in Australia. With that said, you would think lessons would have been learned from our industrial past and measures put in place to protect future generations from toxic workplace exposures.

But Anthony’s death, and the lack of action which has followed, shows very sadly how wrong we are.

Anthony White, 36, died from silicosis. Picture by Luke Marsden.

Australia’s stonemason silicosis crisis has been testament to a failure on an epic scale by employers, engineered stone manufacturers and government agencies.

They have failed to protect our stonemasons from inhaling dust from this product which contains more than 90 per cent silica content.

On an almost daily basis I hear from workers from all around the country, men in their 30s and 40s, often the main bread winners of the family, whose lives are being cut short and earning capacity extinguished.

In Queensland alone, there have been 164 workers compensation claims for silicosis from stonemasons, including 22 advancing to progressive massive fibrosis and requiring lung transplant surgery for survival.

The seeds of death and destruction do not end there as we are also seeing these workers suffering from crippling auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma, diseases more readily associated with senior citizens.

So what are we doing as a community and nation to stem this carnage impacting so many young men and their families all around the country? The answer is simply not enough.

While Queensland and Victoria have rolled out initiatives to abolish the dangerous dry cutting of engineered stone and accessible health screening programs, other states are lagging behind whereby the reality of disease numbers remain buried.

The Palaszczuk government has indeed announced a code of practice, but this set of guidelines is absent of regulatory powers to ensure compliance and is basically a toothless tiger.

The Morrison government must step in and roll out rigorous regulation and legislative reform of the industry, says Roger Singh.

In essence action, or the lack thereof, is inconsistent from one state to another when it is evident this is a national crisis which merits a national response.

The issue is one that has been out in the open for over three years - the time for investigation, debate and reporting must be brought to a close.

The time for real action is now. The Morrison government must step in and roll out rigorous regulation and legislative reform of the industry for we cannot stand by and watch another asbestos legacy sweep the nation.

Lawyer Roger Singh.

Roger Singh is Shine Lawyers national special counsel for dust disease. He currently represents 21 tradesman around the country diagnosed with silicosis.