A 48-year-old stonemason who was told he had weeks to live after developing an incurable lung disease linked to kitchen worktops is taking legal action against his former employers.
Father-of-three Marek Marzec, who suffers from the lung disease silicosis, says the dust he inhaled while cutting the kitchen’s modern quartz countertops left him “unable to breathe” and “in terrible pain.”
Marzec, who is too ill to undergo a life-saving lung transplant, has accused the stone makers where he worked for a decade of using “unsafe” working conditions.
Speaking on his deathbed, Marzec, who lives in London, said he is demanding “urgent” security changes to prevent others die simply “doing their job.”
A growing number of doctors have warned about the risks of stone dust particles, which can be seen in kitchens across the country.
Popular quartz countertops are made from 90 percent ground quartz and 10 percent resins and pigments.
When processed into their final countertop shape, this results in the release of potentially harmful fine silica dust particles into the air.
Once inhaled into the lungs, the particles can accumulate and cause internal scarring and inflammation of the lungs known as silicosis.
Marek Marzec became terminally ill at age 48 after spending a decade working with quartz countertops at a stone manufacturer.
Marzec claims his employer failed to provide safe working conditions and took steps to minimize the damage from toxic particles.
This puts the lungs at greater risk of infection, reduces their overall effectiveness, and can lead to life-threatening organ failure.
In the last year, there have been 11 cases in the UK, including one death, from this progressive disease, caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust during manufacturing or assembly.
The only effective way to treat this disease is a lung transplant, which requires a certain level of physical fitness.
In August, doctors treating patients suffering from the disease wrote a report that appeared in the British Medical Journal’s Thorax, calling for countertops to be banned.
Marzec, originally from Poland, has worked for a number of engineered stone manufacturers in North London and Hertfordshire since 2012.
He was diagnosed with silicosis in April this year and sadly his condition has deteriorated rapidly since then.
Mr Marzec is currently being treated at Whittington Hospital in north London and is under the care of Dr Jo Feary, an expert in occupational lung diseases at the Royal Brompton Hospital.
He is now receiving end-of-life care.
Expensive quartz countertops are made from one of the hardest minerals in the world that, when processed, releases potentially harmful fine dust particles.
“I came to the UK hoping to build a better life and wanting to make sure my young daughters were financially secure,” she said.
‘Instead, because of the work I did cutting quartz countertops, I was left unable to breathe and in terrible pain.
‘I cannot express how angry I am that I was allowed to work in these conditions and that my life was cut short simply for doing my job.
‘I am not the only person whose life has been in danger due to this deadly dust.
“It is time to take urgent action to put an end to these dangerous working conditions that I had to face before other stone workers contracted this terrible disease and died.”
Marzec is represented by law firm Leigh Day, who says stronger safety measures are urgently needed to stop the growing number of silicosis cases linked to artificial stone cutting.
Ewan Tant, Marzec’s lawyer and partner at Leigh Day, warned that without these measures there could be more deaths in the coming years.
“This is a tragic case as my client is now receiving end-of-life care as a result of working with artificial stone, in what he claims were appalling conditions, totally unfit for purpose,” Mr Tant said. .
“No one should end up facing the bleakest outcomes simply for going to work.”
Precautionary measures can be taken to reduce the impact of toxic dust, including using specialized equipment and “wetting” the stone to suppress the dust.
