![]() On Friday, the CFMEU announced it has backed the NSW Opposition’s support for a ban on engineered stone. They’re getting covered from head to toe in dust and they walk out with that dust on them which continues to spread,” Walton said. Our members are working in environments so dusty they can’t see more than 50 metres in front of them. “(We know) silica exposure is all but certain to be occurring at dangerous levels. “Companies should also have to automatically supply all dust monitoring results to the regulator and union promptly, instead of the drawn-out process that exists today.” “We need union officials to be able to walk into a tunnelling site at any time to test if dust levels are unsafe. And we know flimsy or damaged face marks are being regularly offered as PPE,” Walton said. We know sites where water suppression is non-existent. ![]() ![]() “We also know it’s common for companies to operate for days despite ventilation breaking down. “If we do not act, we will have 100,000 cases of silicosis (and) more than 11,000 cancers in this country,” ACTU Assistant Secretary Liam O’Brien said.ĪWU National Secretary Daniel Walton added that union officials also need to be given rights to conduct appropriate measurements of airborne contaminants underground, including going on site with a dust monitor device. Thousands of workers are regularly exposed to the toxic dust during tunnelling, and construction companies “make it difficult” for unions to bring dust monitors on site to regularly monitor workers’ exposure, the AWU said in a statement. Unions and workers are calling for an end to the importation and manufacturing of engineered stone in the construction of household kitchens and bathrooms due to the toxic silica dust that it exposes workers to. “I want my children’s (generation) to know exactly what (silicosis) is like, (the way) we know what asbestos is,” she said. “If you’re there, you’re breathing it in, you’re susceptible to it. “As a mum, it’s hard, that’s what affects me the most, because I am a single mum of two kids that are four and six,” McNeill said. Joanna McNeill, 37, was diagnosed with silicosis after unknowingly inhaling silica dust while working in administration 90m away from a quarry for four years. The issue also poses a risk to workers outside the construction industry. There is no evidence that engineered stone can be used safely - the only way to protect workers in stonecutting industries is to ban the use of this high-risk product,” Bourke said. “Silicosis is a preventable disease, but is currently incurable, can lead to other diseases including lung cancer, and can be fatal. “Silicosis is not only affecting stonemasons but also workers in construction industries including quarrying and tunnelling of sandstone.”īourke adds that engineered stone used to make kitchen bench tops can contain up to 96 per cent of silica - an amount which is significantly higher than natural stone - which puts workers at risk and exposes them to “unsafe workplaces”. “Silica dust particles are 100 times smaller than a grain of sand so can travel deep into the lung to cause damage. Unions launched a “Stop this Killer Stone” campaign on Monday, urging regulatory bodies to take immediate action to stop rising cases of silicosis, a lung disease caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust. ![]() “Silicosis is a devastating occupational lung disease affecting increasing numbers of workers breathing in fine silica dust, causing inflammation and scarring in the lungs,” Bourke said. Monash University Head of Respiratory Pharmacology Associate Professor Jane Bourke warns silicosis is an occupational lung disease that puts workers in the construction industry at great risk. The condition is incurable and can cause lung inflammation and fibrosis. The Australian Workers’ Union, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the CFMEU launched the “Stop this Killer Stone” campaign on Monday, urging regulatory bodies to take immediate action to stop rising cases of silicosis, a lung disease caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust. Goodwin is now working with the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and calling upon the government to ban the importation and manufacture of engineered stone in the hope that it will save other workers’ lives. “That’s too high a price for anyone to pay. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Calls to ban engineered stone products over silica dust. People liked engineered stone because it was cheaper, but the dust got into my lungs, causing incurable, deadly silicosis.” Watch the latest news and stream for free on 7plus >
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