The Government has been urged to consider banning a popular material used to make kitchen worktops after a rise in an incurable disease linked to its manufacture.
One leading medic has called for “urgent action” to protect workers who cut artificial stone.
Kitchen worktops made from artificial stone are cheaper than natural stone – such as granite or marble – but they contain significantly more silica.
And stonemasons who cut this material could be breathing in high concentrations of silica dust, which could potentially lead to them developing a potentially fatal lung condition called silicosis.
The first UK case of silicosis linked to the cutting of artificial stone – which is made from crushed rocks bound together with resins and pigments – was identified last year and medics have seen a rise in cases since.
Experts have documented the first eight cases in the UK in a new paper.
“I think there needs to be an urgent focus on this disease,” Dr Jo Feary, lead author of the paper, told the PA news agency.
The consultant in occupational lung diseases at the Royal Brompton Hospital added: “What’s really striking is it is affecting young people, in their 20s and 30s, and there’s no treatment for it.
“If they didn’t do their job, they wouldn’t have a disease, and it should be preventable. So we need urgent action.”
Dr Feary, who also works as a senior clinical research fellow at Imperial College London, told PA: “We’ve known about the problems associated with artificial stone silicosis from colleagues from around the world for the last few years, but we had not seen any confirmed cases in the UK until the middle of last year when they started arriving in my clinic.”
She expects “many more” cases in the future, but added: “I don’t know how many people in the UK work with engineered stone, and so I don’t know how many people are at risk of breathing in the dust and developing the disease.
“Artificial stone, or engineered stone, has been around for a few decades, but I think it’s increasingly dominating the market for kitchen worktops.
“One of the things about artificial stone is it’s easier to work with, ie, it’s easier to cut and shape and polish the natural stone.
“And therefore, my suspicion is it’s done with poorer control of exposure to dust than it would be if you were using natural stones – so potentially, with less training, with less sophisticated equipment.”
She added: “We need to invest time in understanding how many people are exposed, if it’s possible to use it safely and decisions made about how we’re going to tackle it in the UK – there may be different ways of doing that, a ban is one option, but there are other options as well.”
Engineered stone has been banned in Australia after a rise in cases of silicosis.
The condition occurs when silica dust is inhaled, causing inflammation in the lungs.
This gradually leads to hardened and scarred lung tissue which means the lung cannot function properly.
This can lead to a persistent shortness of breath, weakness and tiredness and an ongoing cough.
People with the condition may eventually find simple activities – such as walking or climbing stairs – very difficult and may be largely confined to their bed or be housebound.
It has no known cure – though some with the condition have received lung transplants – prompting researchers to say that prevention of the disease in the first place is “critical”.
Writing in the journal Thorax, Dr Feary and colleagues documented the first cases of the disease in the UK.
All were among men with an average age of 34.
Some had worked cutting artificial stone for just four years before they were diagnosed with silicosis.
“All cases were dry cutting and polishing artificial stone worktops with inadequate safety measures,” they wrote.
“UK cases are likely to increase, with urgent action needed to identify cases and enforce regulations.”
The team called for action to protect workers, including for the Government to consider following in Australia’s footsteps by banning artificial stone.
“The cases we present illustrate the failure of the employer to take responsibility for exposure control in their workplaces. National guidelines are urgently needed, as well as work to enumerate the at-risk population and identify cases early,” the authors wrote.
“A UK ban on AS (as introduced in Australia in 2024) must be considered.”
Researchers have confirmed that one of the eight patients has since died.
In a linked editorial, Dr Christopher Barber, of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, said that cases are expected to pose a “significant challenge” to doctors.
On a potential ban, he said that a change in the law in the 1920s “was successful in protecting the Sheffield cutlery workers” which led to the industry switching to silica-free grinding wheels.
Meanwhile, an additional study, led by Dr Patrick Howlett, MRC clinical research fellow at Imperial College London, suggests that limiting a person’s exposure to silica dust could help.
He said: “This research supports the reduction of permissible exposure limits over an eight-hour working shift.
“Although lowering exposure limits across different settings is challenging, it has been shown to be achievable.
“We strongly believe it is important to reduce the number of silicosis cases, given the severity of the disease.”
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) spokesperson said: “Our sympathies are with those who have lost loved ones to any work-related disease.
“Great Britain has a robust and well-established regulatory framework in place to protect workers from the health risks associated with exposure to hazardous substances.
“We continue to work with industry to raise awareness of managing the risks of exposure to respirable crystalline silica and we are considering options for future interventions to ensure workers are protected.”