HSE Crackdown on Engineered Stone Puts Businesses on Notice Over Silica Dust

Businesses working with engineered stone are facing increased scrutiny from the Health and Safety Executive as the regulator steps up action over exposure to silica dust, following concerns about workers developing serious and potentially fatal lung disease.

The HSE has launched a nationwide inspection programme targeting businesses that manufacture, fabricate or work with engineered stone, a material widely used for kitchen and bathroom worktops. More than 1,000 inspections are planned as the regulator seeks to ensure that appropriate controls are being used across the industry.

The intervention follows growing concern over cases of silicosis among workers handling engineered stone. The disease is caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica, or RCS, a fine dust generated when materials containing silica are cut, ground or polished.

Unlike many conventional workplace hazards, silica dust can be virtually invisible in the air. Once inhaled, fine particles can penetrate deep into the lungs, where repeated or substantial exposure can cause permanent damage. Silica exposure is also associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.

Engineered stone has attracted particular attention because some products can contain very high concentrations of crystalline silica. HSE says certain materials can contain up to 95%, creating the potential for substantial dust exposure when they are processed incorrectly.

Research carried out by the regulator found that dry fabrication of engineered stone typically produced RCS exposures five to ten times greater than equivalent work carried out using wet processing methods.

The findings have prompted the HSE to make clear that dry cutting of engineered stone is unacceptable unless a business can demonstrate an alternative control providing equivalent or better protection.

Mike Calcutt, Deputy Director in HSE's Engagement and Policy Division, described the regulator's response as its "most significant intervention in the engineered stone sector to date".

“Silicosis is incurable, but it is entirely preventable,” Calcutt said, adding that HSE research had identified businesses still working with high-silica products without appropriate controls.

The regulator's inspection programme has already resulted in enforcement action. Four businesses were ordered to stop work with engineered stone after inspectors identified inadequate measures for protecting employees.

Harvey Wild, HSE Head of Operations, said inspectors had encountered serious deficiencies.

“We have stopped dangerous work with engineered stone in four workplaces due to serious failures in providing the correct controls,” he said.

The regulator has published dedicated guidance setting out the measures expected from businesses working with engineered stone. These include moving towards products with lower silica content, using water suppression during processing, controlling the resulting mist and providing suitable respiratory protective equipment where required.

Health surveillance is another important part of the HSE's approach. Because workers can suffer irreversible lung damage before obvious symptoms develop, appropriate surveillance can help identify signs of occupational disease at an earlier stage.

HSE's enforcement activity has already identified deficiencies involving health surveillance, respiratory protective equipment, local exhaust ventilation and other machinery controls.

The issue also extends beyond businesses physically cutting the material. HSE is working with manufacturers, suppliers and importers to encourage the availability of engineered stone containing less silica and to ensure adequate information about hazards and appropriate controls accompanies products through the supply chain.

The government has backed the regulator's tougher approach. Social Security and Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms said that workers should not face the prospect of developing a preventable disease simply because of their occupation.

“The enforcement action taken by HSE sends a clear message that putting workers at risk of silicosis - an entirely preventable but devastating disease - is completely unacceptable and there will be consequences,” he said.

The action represents a significant development for businesses involved in the worktop and stone fabrication industry because HSE has chosen enhanced guidance and widespread enforcement rather than waiting for individual cases of occupational disease to emerge.

It also demonstrates the increasing regulatory focus on occupational health risks that may take years to become apparent. Unlike an immediate workplace accident, exposure to hazardous substances can continue unnoticed while long-term harm develops.

For organisations operating occupational health and safety management systems such as ISO 45001, the issue brings together several important areas of risk management, including identification of hazardous substances, hierarchy of controls, employee competence, health surveillance and evaluation of whether controls remain effective.

With more than 1,000 HSE visits planned, businesses involved with engineered stone are likely to face considerably greater scrutiny of how silica exposure is being managed. The regulator's position is clear: the technology and working methods required to control the risk already exist, and businesses are expected to use them.

A message from our sponsors, The Ideas Distillery: 

If you would like to look at how to implement an ISO 45001 health & safety management system, then simply contact us.

Or, if you want to see what's involved in more detail, then get a completely free, no obligation, totally tailored ISO Gap Analysis for your business (only available to UK businesses).