A 32-year-old has a deadly disease. So do a dozen of his colleagues

A 32-year-old man is among 13 tunnel workers on the M6 Stage 1 roadway to have been diagnosed with silicosis, sparking an investigation into their employer, construction firm CPB Contractors.

Revelations contained in thousands of documents made public under a parliamentary order have led the Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) to accuse SafeWork NSW of failing to take action and colluding with multibillion-dollar tunnelling companies.

Staff watch as two roadheader tunnelling machines smash through sandstone during construction of WestConnex.Credit: Kate Geraghty

The documents show the regulator has been aware of workers’ frequent exposure to high levels of deadly silica dust – well above safety limits known as the Workplace Exposure Standard – since early 2018. The Herald has previously revealed the frequency and severity of workers’ silica dust exposure across Sydney’s tunnelling projects.

Thousands of workers are employed on Australia’s tunnelling projects, including 2500 by North Sydney-based CPB, which is involved in nine mega-projects in NSW.

A 2023 investigation by the Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes exposed serious health risks for tradespeople working with engineered stone, prompting bans on manufactured stone benchtops, panels and slabs containing at least 1 per cent silica.

Curtin University research published in 2022 has forecast up to 103,000 Australians will develop silicosis after being exposed to the deadly dust at work.

The contractor

The new documents include a submission to SafeWork’s investigation decision-making panel that details how the regulator discovered 13 CPB employees had been diagnosed with silicosis.

While investigating an initial diagnosis identified by NSW Health in October 2023, an inspector discovered CPB had “failed to notify the regulator of 12 other workers diagnosed with silicosis”.

All 13 had worked on the M6 Stage 1 project since it began in late 2021, the submission said. On May 23, 2024, a SafeWork inspector approved a full investigation into their exposure to silica dust.

“Multiple workers that have shared common employers have been identified, with the youngest worker being identified as 32 years old. The responding inspector believes that an investigation would be the expectation of the public,” the submission, dated May 24, 2024, said.

“[SafeWork] holds data for [silica dust] exposures across some of the projects that the various identified workers have worked on during their career with CPB. This data demonstrates that exceedances of the Workplace Exposure Standard have occurred on many occasions.”

A CPB spokeswoman said: “While these employees received a confirmed diagnosis, this does not mean they contracted it while working for CPB Contractors. Throughout a tunneller’s career, workers are employed across many projects, for multiple industries and companies.”

The company said a 14th worker had also been diagnosed but did not specify which projects they had worked on.

Documentation relating to the ongoing investigation into CPB has been stamped “privileged” by parliament, keeping dozens of documents from the public.

A SafeWork spokesman said: “The investigation into CPB Contractors is ongoing and, as such, no further comment can be made.”

Sources with knowledge of the investigation not authorised to speak publicly said CPB employees were interviewed in the second half of 2024. Investigators were focused on the Rozelle interchange and M6 Arncliffe extension, two sites sources described as “hideously dusty and unsafe”.

‘It’s absolutely disgusting’

AWU assistant national secretary Chris Donovan said the scale of the “health disaster is staggering”, accusing the regulator of colluding with tunnelling companies.

“What makes this situation even more appalling is that both the companies and SafeWork NSW knew about dangerous silica dust levels since 2017 yet failed to take meaningful action. Giving companies a week’s notice before safety inspections isn’t regulation – it’s collusion,” he said.

Aerial view of the M6 Stage 1 construction on Marsh Street at Arncliffe. Credit: Janie Barrett

Donovan contrasted emails showing SafeWork informing one tunnelling company of a site inspection one week before the visit with the regulator’s failure to bring compliance action against companies despite repeated breaches of the exposure standard.

“The fact that not a single prosecution has been brought against a tunnelling company, yet we have case after case of silicosis, tells you everything you need to know about the cavalier attitude of tunnelling companies and the lack of regulation of this industry – it’s absolutely disgusting,” he said.

While the Herald has detailed the regulator’s awareness of workers’ exposure to “high levels” of silica dust for at least seven years, responses provided to an ongoing upper house inquiry reveal SafeWork has issued four warnings related to airborne hazards across all tunnelling companies since 2019.

There has been no compliance action taken by the regulator relating to exceedances of the exposure standard for silica dust.

This is despite minutes from an April 2018 meeting, obtained by this masthead, showing SafeWork warned representatives from CPB and Lendlease Bouygues it would take compliance action if unacceptable exposures continued to occur.

“There are high exposures happening, therefore something must be done about it. As a regulator, change needs to be seen and evident,” the minutes said.

Air quality testing data obtained under freedom-of-information laws show standards were exceeded in 34 per cent of 948 tests undertaken in the City and Southwest Metro tunnels, including 8 per cent in which workers were unprotected.

A SafeWork spokesman said a single exceedance did not constitute a breach, and compliance action was pursued where evidence demonstrated companies “failed to established systems of work to prevent exposure”.

“While a Workplace Exposure Standard exceedance may indicate a potential risk of exposure, a person’s level of exposure depends on other factors, such as effective use of respiratory protective equipment and other controls,” he said.

In response to the AWU’s allegation of collusion, the spokesman said the regulator may conduct “planned and unplanned” inspections at any time, saying the former was necessary to provide inspectors with access to sites and staff.

Work Health and Safety Minister Sophie Cotsis said she had “zero tolerance” for workers’ exposure to unsafe levels of silica and expected SafeWork to “strongly enforce legislation to protect workers”.

“The Minns Labor government has inherited a neglected safety system, but since then has taken a methodical approach to address concerns around silica,” she said, referencing the establishment of a silica tunnelling taskforce and compliance team.

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