Durable yet stylish, quartz kitchen countertops have become a staple in millions of homes.
But trendy countertops could soon join the ranks of asbestos as a banned building material amid growing concerns about its safety.
Cheaper than granite or marble, its growing popularity has been blamed on the rapid rise of a deadly lung disease: artificial stone silicosis.
Last year there were 11 cases in the UK, including one death from this progressive disease, caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust during manufacturing or installation.
This has led to calls for officials to follow Australia’s lead and ban the material to protect workers.
Expensive quartz countertops are made from one of the hardest minerals on Earth, which when processed, releases potentially harmful fine dust particles.
Until then, all possible legal control measures should be enforced to minimize workers’ exposure to harmful crystalline silica dust generated during manufacturing and installation, experts say.
Engineered from one of the hardest minerals on Earth, countertops are typically composed of about 90 percent ground quartz and 10 percent resins and pigments.
When preparing for installation, they are often also cut “dry” and polished with an angle grinder or other hand tools without using water to suppress dust generation, which further increases the volume of fine dust.
Last year, eight men were referred to a clinic specialising in occupational lung diseases, aged between 27 and 56 at the time of diagnosis.
Two of them were being evaluated for lung transplants, three for an autoimmune disease and two for an opportunistic lung infection caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria when the disease was discovered.
Exposure to stone dust averaged 12.5 years, but ranged from four to 40 years, and all men worked for small businesses with fewer than ten employees.
Although none of them worked in countertop fabrication or installation, they all performed the “finishing” process, specifically cutting and polishing the countertops before installation.
The risks are thought to be a concern primarily for those who manufacture the countertops. Pictured: raw clear quartz.
They all reported that this was done without constant water suppression and without what they considered to be adequate respiratory protection.
Even where ventilation was available in the shop, workers said the system had not been regularly maintained or cleaned. None of them were aware that dust was being actively controlled in the workplace.
Six were born outside the UK and seven were current or former smokers, according to doctors writing in the BMJ journal Thorax.
Doctors treating them said more needed to be done to regulate exposure to the dust and urged officials to consider a total ban.
They wrote: ‘The occurrence of illness is likely to be related to exposure levels, suggesting that levels, at least for some of the UK cases… were extremely high and imply that employers failed to control dust exposure or comply with health and safety regulations.
‘The market is dominated by small companies where regulation has proven difficult to implement. In addition, at least some countertop manufacturers may not provide adequate technical information related to potential risks.
“Even after cessation of exposure, disease progression has been observed in more than 50 percent of cases over (an average of) four years. Therefore, disease prevention is critical.”
These calls are backed by a second study published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, which claims the substance could be phased out.
They write: ‘In the meantime, all possible control measures should be taken to keep exposure to respirable crystalline silica as low as possible.
We believe this proposal is proportionate and would protect the health of European and other workers around the world, while encouraging industry to continue developing safer products.
In a statement, a spokesman for the Government’s Department of Health and Safety said: ‘Our sympathies are with those who have lost loved ones to any work-related illness.
‘Great Britain has a robust and well-established regulatory framework to protect workers from the health risks associated with exposure to hazardous substances.
‘We continue to work with industry to raise awareness about managing the risks of exposure to respirable crystalline silica and are considering options for future interventions to ensure workers are protected.’
A HSE spokesman said: ‘Our condolences are with those who have lost loved ones to any work-related illness.
‘Great Britain has a robust and well-established regulatory framework to protect workers from the health risks associated with exposure to hazardous substances.
‘We continue to work with industry to raise awareness about managing the risks of exposure to respirable crystalline silica and are considering options for future interventions to ensure workers are protected.’
