The government has rejected calls to ban the use of stone in kitchen renovations after doctors confirmed it is linked to a deadly lung disease.
Researchers studying this issue warn that the number of silicosis cases is likely to increase in the future due to the increasing popularity of artificial stone.
Australia has already banned the material for the same health reasons, and a scientific paper published last week called on the UK to consider doing the same.
However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has advised ministers that a complete ban is unnecessary, No 10 confirmed.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The Health and Safety Executive has continued to advise the Government that it is not currently considering restricting use and that there are already regulations in place requiring employers to put in place appropriate control measures to protect the health of workers when using cigarettes.”
“However, the HSE continues to work with occupational health professionals to increase their understanding and works with industry to raise awareness of the need to manage exposure risks. However, the Government is advised that the appropriate restrictions are currently in place and being properly applied.”
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The HSE has said it is considering “future measures” to protect those working with artificial stone and will advise ministers on any further steps.
Writing in the medical journal thorax Last week, a team of doctors analyzed eight cases of silicosis in the UK linked to exposure to artificial stone, resulting in one death and two possible lung transplants.
Responding, Jordan Bell of law firm Slater and Gordon said: “While the public is generally aware of the dangers of asbestos, the potential risk of silicosis is largely ignored in the UK. Artificial or engineered stone is banned in Australia but continues to be manufactured in the UK, putting those involved in the manufacturing process at great risk.
“Worryingly, the latency period between exposure to silica dust and the development of silicosis is much shorter than for asbestos, meaning people in their 30s are being diagnosed with silicosis as a result of exposure. Unless the UK takes steps to ban man-made or engineered stone, we expect to see an epidemic of diagnoses of these life-threatening diseases in younger people.”
Politicians from the House of Commons and the House of Lords are urging the government to consider a ban, and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) is also calling for stricter regulation of the substance.
A HSE spokesperson said: “We continue to work with industry to raise awareness of how to manage the risks of exposure to respirable crystalline silica and we are considering options for future action to ensure workers are protected.”
Artificial stone worker suffering from silicosis is expected to die
Last month, I spoke to Malik al-Khalil, 31, a Syrian refugee who is one of the first kitchen worktop workers working in the UK to be diagnosed with silicosis.
He has been receiving round-the-clock care at the Royal Brompton Hospital for months and can’t walk more than a few steps before his legs give way and he needs oxygen to breathe.
He was diagnosed in 2023 and doctors told him he could die from the disease. He had contracted the illness after spending five years cutting artificial stone slabs in small London workshops.
He claimed that a friend from his hometown in Syria had died in the UK this year after also contracting silicosis while cutting artificial stone, and he knew nine workers who had been diagnosed with the disease.
Mr Al-Khalil said I He is warning other workers who cut artificial stone about the potential dangers and calling on Sir Keir Starmer’s new government to ban it.
Malik al-Khalil believes that artificial stone should be banned
“Once this silicosis starts in the body, it never stops,” he said I.
“I would like to inform everyone involved in this project about what is happening with this material.
“I don’t like to see or hear that someone is in the hospital in a similar situation to me because it’s not easy.”
Working in a two-man workshop, Mr. Al-Khalil was covered from head to toe in dust after cutting and polishing countertops imported from China.
There were no safety measures such as wet cutting to avoid dust or special personal protective equipment to protect workers; they were only provided with standard masks, he said.
A dust extraction machine at his company was not working properly because it was not cleaned regularly and no health and safety inspections were carried out, he added.
Mr. Al-Khalil called on the government to open its eyes to the problem and ban artificial stone altogether.
“Naturally [it should be banned] because silicosis is caused by this material.
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