[Jan Fisher]

States and territories have agreed to consider banning engineered stone products.

Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke held a meeting this week with his state counterparts to discuss bringing forward a decision to ban engineered stone in domestic settings amid increasing controversy about the health issues around the product.

An estimated 600,000 workers have been exposed to silica dust generated from the product through mining, construction, building and manufacturing.

A Curtin University study has put the number of deadly and incurable disease silicosis at more than 100,00 and estimate 10,000 workers would develop lung cancer from dust exposure.

I have engineered stone benchtops, but had no idea about the danger and given my time again, would not choose such a product.

Is this going to be the asbestos of our generation?

[Couldabeen]

Jan, to reassure you, you are in no danger from your benchtops while they sit there as complete and intact benchtops. It is the dust generated when they are being cut, machined or polished that makes them potentially dangerous. And only when that dust is inhaled.
As you mentioned it, asbestos was a very useful material and of no danger when left alone. Greater dangers arose with the hysterical response to remove it from fixtures. It was those who were mining and handling the raw fibres that had the health issues and the handling of their work clothes. Having asbestos paneling in our homes posed no risk to the occupants unless they started to drill or saw it.
The same applies to this engineered stone.

[Jan Fisher]

Thanks Couldabeen, that’s reassuring. But just to clarify, I wouln’t have bought the product in the first place if I knew it was damaging to the people manufacturing it.
I hope the people affected by the dust get the help they need.

[Author]

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