"We can't make the same mistake twice"

A painful lung disease caused by inhaling harmful levels of silica dust, silicosis is costing Australian tradies their jobs and, ultimately, their lives.

Fatal and undiscriminating, the media is shining a glaring light on the horrific wave of silicosis cases amongst stonemasons and other tradespeople.

With silica-related deaths on the rise, employers and the government must take action to avoid a repeat of the negligence, death and destruction caused by asbestos.

As a lawyer who has acted for sufferers of occupational lung disease for 15 years, it is difficult to comprehend that we are still in a position where people are exposed to deadly dust at work every day. It is vital that we consider Australia’s tragic asbestos legacy because, without significant intervention, silica is leading us down the same path.

This country was one of the highest per capita users of asbestos building products throughout the 1950s and 70s, causing one of the highest rates of asbestos-related diseases worldwide.

Since Australia completely banned the use of asbestos in 2003, awareness of these diseases has risen significantly, but we must extend this awareness to Australia’s lesser-known industrial danger — silicosis.

Gradually increasing in popularity since 2011, the engineered stone benchtop industry is the primary catalyst for rising silicosis rates. While stylish and affordable, these home furnishings are incredibly risky to the stonemasons who cut and assemble them. The engineered stone can contain up to 95% crystalline silica, which, when cut, releases microscopic dust particles that can easily be breathed deep into the lungs, potentially causing silicosis.

Getting silicosis at work is entirely preventable. By law, employers of those working in close contact with silica dust should: install dust extraction devices; engage in controls to reduce dust; talk to staff about the types of risks they may be exposed to on the job; carry out regular air monitoring and share the data with staff (if the silica content is too high, they must implement measures to bring it down); provide regular health monitoring checks for staff.

In 2018, the National Dust Disease Taskforce found that almost a quarter of manufactured stone tradespeople who began working in the industry before 2018 are now suffering from silicosis or a related disease. Unlike asbestos-related conditions, which have a long latency period, the time between exposure to silica dust and diagnosis is alarmingly short, with some young tradies being told they only have a few years to live after the detection of silicosis.

Though regulations around silica dust have greatly improved over the past few years, they are only as effective as their enforcement. But even with complete compliance, these measures rarely eliminate the dust completely, according to the countless victims I have acted for. It is time we have a genuine conversation about banning reconstituted stone products. Currently, we expect a group of people to work with a product that will ultimately kill some of them.

Learning from our dark history with asbestos, we must act immediately. Having known about the potential dangers of asbestos for at least 50 years before it was banned, it is startling to think about how many lives could have been saved had it been banned earlier. We can’t make the same mistake twice.

As a nation, let’s ask ourselves if the lives of these tradies, who are parents, children, friends and loved ones, are worth a cheaper kitchen bench. Once you have seen what I have seen, people in their 20s and 30s whose lives have been turned upside down by a silicosis diagnosis, there can only be one answer to this question.

*Victoria Keays is an accredited specialist in personal injury law with a particular interest in asbestos litigation. She has over 10 years’ experience in representing those suffering from all forms of asbestos diseases; including mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and asbestos-related pleural disease. Victoria is also passionate about achieving compensation for those afflicted by other occupational diseases, such as silicosis and occupational lung cancer. Victoria has represented clients in a number of jurisdictions around Australia and has been recognised by Doyle’s Guide as a leading lawyer in the area of dust diseases.

 

Top image credit: iStockphoto.com/Andrii Dodonov