‘Stop this killer stone’: CFMMEU wants popular benchtop material banned

The CFMMEU has announced it will ban the use of engineered stone if the federal government fails to do so by 2024, labelling the material often used for kitchen benchtops the asbestos of the 2020s.

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union launched a campaign to “stop this killer stone” at its national conference in Melbourne on Wednesday, urging the federal government to ban engineered stone by July 2024.

Former stonemason Kyle Goodwin worked with engineered stone for 10 years and contracted silicosis.Credit: Jason South

Engineered stone contains quartz, which, when cut, sends silica particles into the air. These can be breathed in, causing silicosis, where inflammation and scarring in the lungs leads to reduced oxygen intake.

Engineered stone is commonly used in benchtops. It is cheaper than marble, and Caesarstone is a popular brand in Australia. Dry cutting of the stone was banned in Queensland in 2018, Victoria in 2019 and NSW in 2020.

The union said modelling by Curtin University estimated 10,000 workers in Australia across all sectors will develop lung cancer and up to 103,000 will be diagnosed with silicosis as a result of their current exposure to silica dust at work.

Kyle Goodwin, 37, is a former stonemason who worked with engineered stone for 10 years and contracted silicosis. In 2018, he was given eight years to live and now suffers from breathing problems.

“I’m out of breath very easily,” he said. “We’re now seeing another young generation of tradesmen like myself having their lives shortened dramatically by a product that is not essential to the building industry.”

Goodwin said the substance should be banned to prevent other people ending up like him.

“I don’t want to see stonemasonry stopped. I have a lot of friends still in the industry,” he said. “I want to see them working, but I want to see them working safe.”

Kate Cole, president of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists, said because fine silica particles can’t be seen, they also pose a threat to other people who are working nearby when engineered stone is being cut.

“You can’t see fine silica dust, so if it’s not controlled it will move and spread,” she said. “In a confined space like an apartment building [site] the silica dust can affect other workers.”

An all-government response released in March this year found “further decisive action is required to better protect workers in dust-generating industries and to support affected workers and their families”.

It recommended strengthened “work health and safety measures to ensure workers are protected from exposure to respirable crystalline silica and its devastating consequences”, as well as development of “national guidance to identify people at risk from respirable crystalline silica exposure [and] improve the quality, frequency and coverage of health screening assessments for current and former workers”.

Among the other recommendations were prioritising investment in prevention and better supporting workers and their families affected by dust disease.

Zach Smith, who is due to take over as CFMMEU national secretary next year, said “Australian workers will keep dying unless we ban engineered stone”.

“Engineered stone is the asbestos of the 2020s,” Smith said. “That’s exactly why we’re taking this extremely rare step of flagging a ban on CFMMEU members working with this killer stone.

“Australia has one of the world’s most voracious cheap benchtop habits and it could claim thousands of lives unless we quit. Any modest cost increase for consumers will save lives.”

The union said it would move a resolution at the conference to ban the use of engineered stone and the importation and manufacture of engineered stone products from July 1, 2024.

Zach Smith, incoming national secretary of the CFMMEU.Credit: Jason South

A Department of Employment and Workplace Relations spokesperson said there would be an amendment to work health and safety laws to explicitly prohibit uncontrolled processing of engineered stone.

It would also work with unions to address health issues arising from silica dust exposure, the spokesperson said.

Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke intends to discuss silicosis at a meeting of work health and safety ministers early next year.

“[This would include] discussing calls for stronger [health and safety] protections, increased compliance checks, and calls to ban high-silica-content engineered stone,” the spokesperson said.

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