As engineered stone ban comes into effect, war on silicosis far from over, doctor warns

Engineered stone became popular in the mid-2000s, with the Gold Coast's property development boom creating a silicosis hotspot.  (ABC News)

It's 2017 and doctor Graeme Edwards has seen another young stonemason with lung problems at his Gold Coast clinic.

The men are suffering from silicosis, a disease that is caused by breathing in crystalline silica dust found in manufactured stone often used for benchtops, and is almost always deadly.

Seven years on, laws to ban the use and import of engineered-stone products across the country will come into effect from July 1.

It’s a bittersweet win for Gold Coast occupational health specialist Dr Edwards, who has watched as patients died from the deadly lung disease.

He warns the war on silicosis isn't yet over, saying a ban won't stop diagnoses for years to come.

"It can take years for symptoms to develop," he said.

"There's all these workers out there who have been exposed, who think they've dodged the bullet … only to develop the disease in the future."

Results from the coalface

Dr Edwards' Parkwood clinic was at the coalface of the silicosis crisis and his work uncovered some of the first cases in Queensland.

Engineered stone has grown in popularity over the past decade because it is less expensive and stronger than natural stone.The Gold Coast was a hotbed for workers developing the illness because booming property development increased the demand for flash new interiors.

Dr Edwards was part of the National Dust Diseases Taskforce established in 2019, which recommended a complete ban of the product by July 2024 if safety regulators and the industry couldn't protect workers.

Tomorrow – that ban comes into place.

Dr Edwards said the law change is welcome but that he also understands the consequences for businesses because regulation failed.

"People [in the stone mason industry] doing the right thing are at the mercy of those who were doing the wrong thing," he said.

Dr Edwards said more training was needed for medical staff to not only screen patients but also diagnose the disease in its early stages.

"If you wait until someone is symptomatic ...  then it's too late to do anything for them and the only thing they've got up their sleeve is a lung transplant," he said

"There is really exciting research happening right now around early interventions that can make a material difference in someone's quality of life."

A 'generation of pain and suffering' still to come

Roger Singh has sat at the hospital bedside of young men dying of the disease.

For the Shine Lawyers dust diseases national practice leader, silicosis seemed a disease of a bygone era until a flood of cases came across his desk from 2015.

The Brisbane-based lawyer has been lobbying for change.

"For many workers the ban has come too late — it can take many years for the disease to become apparent and young lives will continue to be destroyed," he said.

"There is a generation of pain and suffering that is yet to run its course.

"But this new law will save lives and will protect the health and wellbeing, which is essential."

Too little too late

For silicosis suffers like Dean Morris, the new laws bring up mixed emotions.

The 45-year-old worked as a stonemason in Victoria for more than two decades.

It wasn’t just a job, it was a career he was proud of.

"It just adds to it, that doing what you love has in a way ruined my life," he said.

"I have seven friends who have also been diagnosed and more I know through the industry."

In May 2019, Mr Morris was flagged in the mandatory silicosis workplace screenings that had been sparked in the wake of the death of Gold Coast stonemason Anthony White.

Now Mr Morris is constantly short of breath, in pain and suffers from severe fatigue.It affects his ability to have a conversation, walk and do daily tasks.

"Why can’t I just kick the footy with my girls, why can’t I go on a walk with my partner?" Mr Morris said.

"I’m thrilled with the [law change] … but I’m angry that it has taken five years. It’s a good step forward but I feel that it’s a little too late."

Work not over yet

In the lead-up to the legislation passing at the end of last year, unions vowed to stop engineered stone entering worksites by July 2024, if governments did not outlaw it by then.

But CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith said the work isn’t over yet.

"We are concerned ... that companies are out there seeking to avoid the bad rebranding, dangerous engineered stone products, under other titles and other names," he said.