The proposal follows a joint investigation byTheSydney Morning Herald,TheAge and60 Minutes that revealedworkers exposed to silica dust were battling the debilitating symptoms of the lung disease silicosis while state-based regulators failed to effectively police workplaces.
ACurtin University study,commissioned by the ACTU,estimates there are more than 275,000 workers,including miners,contractors,construction workers,stone masons and tunnellers exposed to high levels of crystalline silica,which is carcinogenic. The study predicts up to 103,000 workers will be diagnosed with silicosis.
The ACTU has called for an immediate ban on engineered stone,echoing calls from medical organisations,while major Spanish manufacturer Cosentino has called for a prohibition on products with more than 40 per cent crystalline silica.
Queensland Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace has been the only state or territory minister to publiclycall for a ban on engineered stone imports in the lead-up to Tuesday’s meeting,however,several federal Labor MPs and senators,including three doctors,are pushing for its prohibition.
Victorian MP Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah,who last year broke down in parliament while speaking about the effects of silicosis on workers,backed a ban and called on consumers to think about the risks to workers.
“I think consumers are concerned about the provenance of their products. Sustainability is important,[and] we don’t like buying products that are made by children,so why would we want to buy a product that was killing young Australians?” Ananda-Rajah said.
She also described the lack of safety awareness among tradesmen as an indictment on operators and questioned whether rules regarding the stone slabs’ industrial use could be effectively enforced.
“It’s essentially a terminal diagnosis,like cancer,and it’s cutting people down in the prime of their lives,” she said.
Western Sydney Labor MP Dr Mike Freelander called for an immediate ban on engineered stone pending an investigation into its safe use.
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“Either conditions are made to make it safe or,if not the case,then we should move to alternative products,” he said.
Labor senators Tony Sheldon and Jana Stewart said they wanted the dangerous product immediately banned,while Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care,Ged Kearney,said she strongly urged the meeting of ministers to consider a ban.
The member for Robertson on NSW’s Central Coast,Dr Gordon Reid,said he saw patients with lungs scarred from silica dust lying in bed,breathless.
“It looks like they’ve run a marathon lying down,” he said,also supporting a ban.
Caesarstone,the dominant supplier of manufactured stone benchtops in Australia,took out full-page advertisements in national newspapers arguing against a total ban on engineered stone,saying tunnelling and construction involving natural stone would also need to be banned to solve the silicosis issue.
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Stone benchtop suppliers and fabricators are calling for national regulation to deal with industry “cowboys” but argue a ban on using engineered stone will affect thousands of businesses and will not deal with contamination from other sources such as natural stone,concrete or cement.
Construction industry lobby Master Builders Australia is consulting its members on an ultimatum put by the construction union that it would ban its members from using engineered stone by 2024 unless a nationwide ban was imposed.
MBA head Denita Wawn said the organisation wanted to ensure workplaces were free from high-risk silica hazards “and that any regulatory changes are effective and doing what they are designed to do”,calling for extensive consultation on the outcomes of the meeting.
“It’s important that there is a clear and consistent approach. There are lots of questions that could arise and it’s important that we know clearly exactly what the scope will be,” Wawn said.
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