The Dust of Death
New laws protect 600,000 workers from deadly dust, but they come too late for Joanna
New laws give workers exposed to respiratory crystalline silica dust the right to demand multiple safety control measures.
- by Amber Schultz
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Workplace safety
$2.5 million to enforce engineered stone ban after inspections reveal worksite issues
A national ban on the use, supply and manufacture of engineered stone, commonly used in shiny kitchen benchtops, will begin next month.
- by Mary Ward
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Scope of benchtop ban under review to guard against loopholes
Safe Work Australia will draw up the regulations to be adopted after a national meeting in March.
- by Angus Thompson
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Workplace safety
Delay on deadly stone import ban until states sort out own deadlines
Australia’s states and territories agreed earlier this month to roll out the world’s first ban on engineered stone, which causes silicosis.
- by Angus Thompson
New rules send ‘shock waves’ through the housing industry
The cost of making homes more sustainable and the banning of engineered stone have sent shock waves through the construction industry.
- by Carolyn Cummins
Now engineered stone is banned, should you worry if it’s in your home?
Health experts are divided on whether engineered stone benchtops can be safely modified or removed from hundreds of thousands of homes, with one suggesting they should be left alone for years until the risks from lower levels of exposure are properly known.
- by Angus Thompson
Price hikes, building delays: What happens after the engineered stone ban
New silica-free products may cost 30 per cent more than engineered stone, and home builders are warning of price spikes and building delays before the ban.
- by Amber Schultz
Ken finds it hard to breathe after a decent meal. He wishes he’d chosen a different job
The 48-year-old stonemason became the face of the silicosis scourge affecting Australia’s tradies when his photo appeared in this masthead in February.
- by Angus Thompson and Taylor Dent
Analysis
For subscribers
For all the talk of urgency, stone ban still too late for many
Compare action on engineered stone to the speed with which the government rushed through complex legislation to re-detain some of the people released from indefinite detention after last month’s High Court decision.
- by Angus Thompson
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Australia backs July 1 ban on engineered stone but gives builders grace period
Builders will be given time beyond the July 1 deadline if they have already signed contracts to use the product linked to the deadly lung disease silicosis.
- by Angus Thompson
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Ministers weigh up July 1 nationwide ban on engineered stone
While all states and territories have declared their support for a ban on the material, ministers have so far stayed silent on their preferred timeline.
- by Angus Thompson
Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/topic/the-dust-of-death-6fuy