A ban on unsafe cutting of kitchen worktop stone has today been introduced for the first time by UK regulators after The i Paper’s reporting on rising silicosis cases in young tradesmen.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has unveiled new rules to stop “dry cutting” of engineered stone – also known as quartz – and confirm water suppression tools to dampen lung-shredding dust are a legal requirement to protect workers.
As part of an enforcement crackdown to ensure the guidance is being followed, 1,000 nationwide inspections of workplaces are being carried out by HSE over the next 12 months.
The first inspections have taken place, with enforcement action to be launched against firms and individuals breaching the guidance.
Offenders breaching health and safety law risk possible criminal prosecution, up to two years in prison and an unlimited fine.
It marks a victory for The i Paper’s Killer Kitchens campaign, which has pushed for a ban on dry cutting to protect stonemasons from deadly dust and for an HSE crackdown on rogue employers who put their workers’ lives at risk by failing to provide adequate protection.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Respiratory Health praised The i Paper‘s “hard work and diligence on this issue”, saying it has “made an enormous difference”.
23-year-old referred for lung transplant
More than 50 UK quartz stonemasons, many migrants and in their 20s and 30s, have been diagnosed with silicosis since mid-2023, with the first UK cases revealed by The i Paper in February 2024.
Their average age is 43, four have died and the youngest, aged 23, is among those referred for a lung transplant. The i Paper has spoken to sick and dying men who have described how their lungs were ravaged by toxic silica dust caused by exploitative employers.
While silica-related disease in industries like mining typically takes decades to develop, cases of quartz-induced silicosis show engineered stone dust can cause the crippling lung disease to develop in a much shorter timeframe, with UK cases developing after as little as a year’s exposure.
Mike Calcutt, deputy director in HSE’s Engagement and Policy Division, said: “Today’s guidance marks our most significant intervention in the engineered stone sector to date, and not without good reason.
“Silicosis is incurable, but it is entirely preventable. No worker should lose their life to a lung disease caused by their job, and that is why we have taken this action.”
It comes after HSE carried out a two-year research and industry engagement to examine the scale of the risk from engineered stone.
The regulator found dry cutting produces exposure to lethal silica dust – known as respirable crystalline silica (RCS) – five to 10 times higher than ‘wet cutting’ with water to suppress RCS.
“What we found was stark. Many businesses are not putting the right controls in place; they are still using engineered stone with high silica content and dry cutting, which must stop,” said Calcutt.
“To every employer in this sector: the guidance is now published, the expectations are clear, and our inspectors are coming. Those who are cutting corners are not just putting their workers at risk — they are undercutting the businesses that do things properly. We will create a level playing field.
“To workers handling engineered stone: know your rights and know the controls that should be keeping you safe. If you have concerns, contact HSE.”
What the new guidance means
Regulations are already in place governing workplace exposure to harmful substances such as RCS dust under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH).
But HSE’s new guidance is the first under COSHH specifically for engineered stone and states employers have a legal requirement to use water suppression tools to control dust.
The guidance says employers must also provide workers with appropriate respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and carry out regular health surveillance of employees.
HSE is also working with manufacturers, suppliers and importers to encourage the supply of lower-silica engineered stone products.
Kevin Bampton, chief executive officer of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), which is the chartered society for worker health protection, said the new guidance would provide “much-needed clarity” for the industry on what is needed to protect stonemasons.
“Keeping people safe at work requires more than relying on HSE to do a good job,” he said.
“We need the press to highlight when people are at risk at work; otherwise, there isn’t any motivation to do the right thing. Without The i Paper’s reporting on engineered stone, this would be an issue that lies unresolved.”
Jim Shannon, the DUP MP who chairs the respiratory health cross-party group of MPs, welcomed the revised guidance, calling it a “timely move forward” that could have a “significant impact on the health of workers”.
“While the guidance should have an impact with legitimate industry, we still need a national screening programme to capture those workers which the new surveillance will miss,” he said.
“We also need further action on the other causes of silica dust in the workplace and the APPG would like to see the introduction of real-time detection, when it is ready, to further reduce the risk to workers.”
‘Britain should follow Australia’s lead’
Man-made engineered stone can contain up to 95 per cent crystalline silica, much higher than natural stones like granite (typically 30 per cent) or marble (5 per cent), which are also used for kitchen revamps.
Epidemics of silicosis in workers cutting engineered stone have broken out in countries including Spain and Australia, which have both seen over 1,000 cases.
In 2024, Australia became the first country in the world to bring in a ban on engineered stone, while in California, more than 550 tradesmen have been diagnosed, 30 of whom have died, since 2018.
Trade unions here have called for tougher measures to protect workers, including an outright Australia-style ban on quartz, with doctors warning urgent action is needed to avoid the huge numbers of cases seen in other countries.
Sian Elliot, director of organising at the Trade Unions Congress (TUC), said: “Steps to strengthen protections and reduce exposure are welcome, but the most effective way to prevent deaths and diseases is to remove the hazard altogether.
“Britain should follow Australia’s lead, where the supply and cutting of engineered stone has been banned.”
Sir Stephen Timms, minister for Social Security and Disability, said: “Every worker deserves to come home safe, without fear of losing their life to a preventable, deadly lung disease caused by their job.
“This new guidance gives businesses clear, unambiguous instructions on what the law requires, and this spring and summer HSE will carry out more than 1,000 inspections across the industry to make sure those standards are enforced, and the lives of workers protected.”
The i Paper has previously reported how stonemason Marek Marzec, 48, died seven months after being diagnosed with silicosis. Weeks before his death, Marzec described how he had been working on kitchen countertops in a “tornado” of dust.
Wessam al-Jundi, 28, is believed to be the first silicosis victim in the UK and died five days after he was admitted to Harefield Hospital in May 2024, where he had been awaiting a lung transplant.
Malik Al-Khalil, 31, was among the first UK-based kitchen countertop workers diagnosed with silicosis after inhaling dust from engineered stone while working in small factories in London.
He told The i Paper in 2024: “Of course [it should be banned] because the silicosis is coming from this material. This job will be for the Government.”