Calls for Australia to ban imported stone benchtops

Man survives timber house collapse. A man has survived a house falling on top of him as the bobcat he was driving was caught underneath it. The owner/builder and driver of the bobcat was lucky to escape uninjured as the timber home fell on the machine. It appears he had hired a pier jacking system to raise the home, and as he has removed some stumps, one of the piers was upset, causing the house to slide and leaving the house held up by the bobcat, one of the jacking system piers and one of the steel beams under the building.

A house lifting specialist company has been called in to recover the situation. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and the Queensland Building and Construction Commission are investigating the incident. Original details of this event can be found on the Townsville Bulletin website.

Calls for Australia to Ban Imported Stone Benchtops

In its final report, released on Monday, a federal task force has recommended that unless significant industry changes were made to protect workers from silica dust exposure, Australia should get ready to ban some or all imports of engineered stone used in kitchens and bathrooms.

Why Silicosis Cases Are Rising Again

Silicosis, caused by inhalation of crystalline silica released when engineered stone is cut, ground or polished, was prevalent in Australia between the 1940s and 1960s. This disease has re-emerged with growing popularity of engineered stone benchtops, raising fresh concerns among safety professionals across construction and manufacturing sectors.

According to data from Queensland and Victoria, nearly one in four people who have worked with engineered stone suffer from silicosis or other diseases related to silica dust. This statistic underscores why proper equipment handling procedures and dust suppression methods matter so much on job sites where these products are fabricated.

Current Health and Safety Gaps Identified

The task force says current health and safety regulations aren't protecting workers from dust exposure linked to deadly lung disease silicosis, and businesses working with this material were on notice to improve. Several inquiries, including our earlier coverage of the report calling for a ban on engineered stone, highlighted similar findings well before this latest recommendation.

Recommendations from the report include:

• Regular monitoring and recording of silica dust levels at worksites
• Employee health checks and screening for current and former workers
• Development of national guidelines to identify those at risk from exposure

Businesses handling these products should review their chemical handling and storage procedures alongside dust control measures, since airborne silica particles pose comparable risks to other hazardous substances found on manufacturing and construction sites. Employers should also revisit their fitness for work policies to ensure screening programs capture early signs of respiratory illness among staff who work directly with stone products.

Since this initial task force report, further developments have unfolded. Readers can review our follow-up piece confirming that Australia plans to ban engineered stone next year, plus commentary noting that Safe Work Australia welcomed the engineered stone ban once it was formalised.

For businesses currently fabricating or installing stone products, our Stone Fabricating SWMS and Stone Cladding SWMS documents offer guidance on managing silica dust exposure while this industry transitions toward safer materials and practices.

Full details of the federal task force findings are available via the MSN website article referenced above.