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Builders will be given a grace period beyond the July 1 deadline for a world-first ban on engineered stone if they have already signed contracts to use the product linked to the deadly lung disease silicosis.<\/p>\n
Most of the nation\u2019s workplace health and safety ministers agreed on Wednesday to prohibit the use, supply and manufacture of engineered stone from July 2024 while Canberra vowed to ban imports from an unspecified date, in a deal celebrated by unions and health experts.<\/p>\n
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A Safe Work Australia report delivered to ministers found there was no safe level of the dust emitted when engineered stone slabs are cut.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Eddie Jim<\/cite><\/p>\n But not all ministers agreed to the deadline, with sources suggesting Tasmania was the hold-out.<\/p>\n Australian Council of Trade Unions assistant secretary Liam O\u2019Brien declared the ban would save lives.<\/p>\n \u201cEngineered stone is a fashion product that is killing the workers who make it. With alternatives readily available, why are we risking the lives of tradies for a fashionable finish in our kitchens?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The agreement comes four months after a Safe Work Australia report delivered to ministers found there was no safe level of the dust emitted when engineered stone slabs are cut, and called for an all-out ban.<\/p>\n The watchdog\u2019s report was commissioned after an investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes<\/em> this year revealed a growing number of workers were being diagnosed with silicosis.<\/p>\n A study into silicosis by Curtin University estimates more than 275,000 workers \u2013 including miners, contractors, construction workers, stonemasons and tunnellers \u2013 are being exposed to high levels of crystalline silica, which is carcinogenic, and predicts up to 103,000 workers will be diagnosed with silicosis.<\/p>\n A joint communique following the meeting also foreshadowed a meeting in March to discuss safety protocols for tradies working on renovations or demolitions involving engineered stone.<\/p>\n NSW Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis congratulated crusading workers and health groups before taking aim at the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cMy message to business and consumers is this: it\u2019s time for you to stop buying this stuff. Don\u2019t enter into any further contracts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Victorian Worksafe Minister Danny Pearson also hailed the outcome. \u201cNo one should be exposed to fatal risks simply by going to work. It\u2019s just unacceptable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But the transition period for the industry has enraged medical experts, with thoracic physician Dr Deborah Yates describing any further delay as inexcusable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will result in further deaths, and I\u2019m surprised the Labor government would not be more protective of workers\u2019 health,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s reminiscent of the problems with asbestos when the Australian government was very late in banning it and that resulted in many deaths directly due to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr Graeme Edwards, a former member of the national dust disease taskforce who helped raise the alarm over a spike in silicosis cases in 2018, said the system was not protecting Australian workers as it should.<\/p>\n \u201cMore delays means more workers will be exposed, and more people will suffer from a preventable disease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union national secretary Zach Smith has previously vowed his members will boycott the product if it is not banned by July.<\/p>\n \u201cThe grace period started when we announced our campaign, when we said over a year ago that we would ban this product if governments don\u2019t \u2013 that\u2019s when industry\u2019s grace period started,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The states are understood to have different views on the length of time businesses should be given to adapt. A decision is expected at the next meeting in March.<\/p>\n Caesarstone, a global manufacturer of engineered stone, said it was \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d by the ban and accused ministers of singling out one type of product containing silica over others. It said governments\u2019 \u201cpiecemeal approach\u201d to tackling silicosis meant workers would continue to be exposed to the risks of the disease.<\/p>\n In a statement, lobby group Master Builders Australia said there were still many unanswered questions and legal uncertainty around transition arrangements that should have been settled on Wednesday.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s meeting comes nearly 10 months after Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke urged his state and territory counterparts to bring forward a decision on whether to prohibit the material, declaring \u201cI\u2019m not willing to wait\u201d, after the former national dust disease taskforce recommended a ban be considered by July 2024 if the industry hadn\u2019t made measurable safety improvements by then.<\/p>\n Developers Lendlease and Mirvac have already announced they will not use engineered stone in new projects while major retailers such as Bunnings and Ikea have said they will stop selling it.<\/p>\n