Australia is set to become the first country in the world to ban engineered stone after the nation’s work, health and safety ministers agreed to implement a complete prohibition on use the product from the middle of next year.

At the national Meeting of Workplace Relations and Work Health and Safety Ministers which was held on Wednesday, Commonwealth and state ministers across the nation agreed to implement a complete prohibition on the use, supply and manufacture of all engineered stone products (refer communique).

The ban will commence from 1 July next year in most states and territories.

The Commonwealth will also implement a customs ban on the importation of engineered stone products.

Exceptions to the engineered stone ban will apply for activities that involve working with legacy products which have been installed prior to the ban.

There will also be exceptions for products with trace levels of crystalline silica (less than 1 percent).

For the purpose of the ban, the definition of engineered stone products will be based on the definition that which is contained in the model work, health and safety regulations.

However, exclusions will apply for concrete and cement products; bricks, pavers and other similar blocks; porcelain products; ceramic wall and floor tiles; roof tiles; grout, mortar and render; and plasterboard.

Additional products will also be exempt where they are identified through a process to be determined by Safe Work Australia.

The ban follows an intensive campaign by unions, which was backed by widespread support from public health organisations.

Engineered stone is essentially a composite slab of stone that is generally made up of crushed stone which is bound together by an adhesive to create a solid surface.

Over recent decades, the product has become popular in terms of use in kitchen benchtops on account of its low cost, durability, ease of cleaning and resistance to scratching and staining.

However, concern has been growing that manufacture and use of the product may be leading to silicosis and other lung diseases among workers who are involved in its manufacture and installation.

This occurs as workers are exposed to dust over time as a result of cutting, grinding, trimming, drilling, sanding and polishing.

In Queensland, a 2018 health screening program of workers from the engineered stone bench-top fabrication industry found that 11 percent had confirmed cases of silicosis.

Further, researchers believe that the true prevalence of silicosis in engineered stone workers could be as high as 20 or 30 percent.

In its final report in mid-2021, the National Dust Disease Taskforce did not back an immediate ban on use of engineered stone but encouraged governments to prepare for a potential ban within three years should other measures to protect workers fail to deliver sufficient outcomes.

In August, Safe Work Australia went further and recommended a complete ban on the product.

In reaching their decision, the ministers noted key findings in the Safe Work report.

These include that:

• Rates of silicosis and silica-related diseases in Australian workers have risen substantially in recent years, with a disproportionate number of diagnoses in engineered stone workers.
• When engineered stone is processed, the dust generated has different physical and chemical properties that likely contribute to more rapid and severe disease.
• There is no scientific evidence for a safe threshold of crystalline silica content in engineered stone, or that lower silica content engineered stone is safer to work with.
• Silicosis is preventable, but WHS laws are not protecting workers due to a persistent lack of compliance with obligations and responsibilities under these laws across industry at all levels.

The decision has been welcomed by unions.

“This is an incredibly special day for Australian workers, especially every CFMEU member who fought for this life-saving change,” said Zach Smith, National Secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.

“I want to congratulate Tony Burke and all his state counterparts who have backed the CFMEU’s campaign.”

Smith paid tribute to Kyle Goodwin – a former stonemason who fronted the union’s campaign.

Goodwin was given 5-8 years to live when receiving a positive test result for silicosis at age 33 in 2018.

At that point, he and his partner decided not to have children in the knowledge that any children would grow up without a father.

Instead of planning a family with his partner, Kyle is now planning his funeral.

“Kyle selflessly dedicated a huge chunk of his remaining days to stopping other workers from being given the same unthinkable diagnosis,” Smith said.

“Like Bernie Banton and asbestos, Kyle Goodwin’s name deserves to be inextricably linked to the ban on engineered stone.”

A ban on engineered stone importation into Australia puts us at the world forefront in the fight to obliterate the deadly resurgence of silicosis completely, the nation’s peak lung health body said today.

Lung Foundation Australia CEO Mark Brooke said the ban would will save lives and will place Australia at the forefront of global efforts to eliminate silicosis.

“Lung Foundation Australia has been fighting for almost 5 years to see the scourge of silicosis taken on seriously by industry and government, and we stand with the thousands of Aussie workers and their families who said, enough is enough,” Brooke said.

“The latest research tells us one in four stonemasons have developed this debilitating, often fatal yet completely preventable disease and its resurgence is directly related to engineered stone, an interiors fashion product.

“Health experts, workers’ safety unions, huge hardware and homeware store networks and now the Australian Government are all in lock step when it comes to preventing unsafe, unnecessary exposure to high levels of silica dust.”

But the decision is a blow to suppliers of engineered stone products, who had been pushing back against a complete ban and had instead advocated for a ban on engineered stone with a silica level of greater than 40 percent along with an licensing regime and education campaign.

Meanwhile, building industry lobby groups expressed caution at the ban.

In a statement, Master Builders Australia acknowledged the need to prevent silica related diseases such as silicosis.

But the organisation expressed caution that many of the practical impacts of the issues are properly worked through and addressed before the ban comes into effect.

These include issues around contractual obligations (including under existing fixed-price residential contracts), the availability and deliverability of suitable alternative products at similar price points and implications for businesses that already have significant quantities of engineered stone products in stock in absence of any compensation or buy-back schemes.