Cases of silicosis among Victorian workers involved in the fabrication and installation of artificial stone benchtops have spiked, as Australia became the first country to ban the material in January 2025.

“The results should be extremely concerning for other countries where engineered stone is popular but there has been no screening of workers. These results suggest that in those regions, there are highly likely to be a very large number of undiagnosed workers,” Dr. Hoy said.

"The stone benchtop industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry, employing hundreds of thousands of workers internationally. Our study has demonstrated an alarmingly rapid increase in cases of silicosis caused by work with artificial stone and provides further justification for Australia’s prohibition of the material.

“Government-funded screening of stone benchtop workers has been crucial in revealing the magnitude of this silicosis outbreak and should be considered in other countries where this material has become popular.”

  • Sippy Cup
    2•9 days ago

    Mandatory reading

    The single worst workplace disaster in US history.

    Men were sent in to a mine with either no or inadequate breathing equipment, and slowly suffocated after contacting silicosis.

    One man living with his mother had to be carried to bed. “Mama I tell you I cannot get my breath” were some of the last words he’d speak.

    Silicosis is no fucking joke. It can take years before you notice you have it, there’s no reversing it, and you will not enjoy another moment of life once you do. It can take a long time to die and you will loathe every minute of it. That’s if your exposure is limited.

    If you’re working around this shit all the time, or in the case of the Hawks Nest tunnel, your exposure is nearly constant, you’ll die over a matter of weeks, rather than years. You will die.

    This is not a “touching this thing is extremely dangerous proceed with caution” scenario. This is a “if you breathe in this dust, it will kill you slowly and painfully” scenario.