Australia's workplace ministers have agreed to implement a national ban on engineered stone, over concerns its use has led to a surge in silicosis cases among workers.
I presume that laminated/coated MDF isn’t the same market segment as heavy, dense engineered stones. Perhaps they’ll go solid epoxy with no silica filler? That would be more expensive but probably work. I suspect they’ll still want cheap fillers however, so non-silica stones might be chosen (but surely most stone dusts are bad?).
Silicosis can come from a wide variety of sources, basically anything where stone dust occurs can produce it, even natural stone countertop manufacturing has long been known to be dangerous in that regard.
This whole ban feels more like populism than addressing the real problems. Engineered stone has become a popular material, lots of people have worked with it with insufficient safety precautions and now there’s a number of people permanently disabled by it.
Simply banning engineered stone won’t solve that problem, since it will now just happen with other materials.
But broadly, engineered stone is significantly different because of both its composition and how it’s used. The proof of the pudding, though, is that with its rise in popularity we’ve also seen the rise of these ‘acute accelerated’ cases of silicosis.)
yeah the real issue they need to come down hard on is disregard for oh&s in the building industry, poor education and worker exploitation. I expect this to happen around the same time my grandmother’s pig sprouts wings and takes flight.
Laminated chipboard/MDF or natural stone mainly, depending on how expensive ones tastes and budget are. Still wouldn’t want to be breathing dust from either of those though…
As another comment suggests stainless steel is another option, or perhaps even expoxied timber/bamboo. These do suffer from aesthetic and durability issues respectively though when it comes to trying to convince people to use them.
Laminated wood products suck for countertops. If the sealing isn’t completely perfect and water is ever allowed to sit on a joint, the fibers will swell and you get a bump that progresses to a crumbly mess. The damage is not repairable without replacement either.
N.B. Porcelain is a silicate. Clay dust exposure is one of the traditional causes of silicosis, potters are (mostly) taught to clean their workplaces with hoses not brooms.
I’m sure you’ll find breathing stone dust doesn’t do you any favour’s either. Strange to be they banned the product instead of mandating wet saws or something.
What are the replacement materials?
I presume that laminated/coated MDF isn’t the same market segment as heavy, dense engineered stones. Perhaps they’ll go solid epoxy with no silica filler? That would be more expensive but probably work. I suspect they’ll still want cheap fillers however, so non-silica stones might be chosen (but surely most stone dusts are bad?).
EDIT: Oh dear https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-05/study-finds-safety-concerns-in-engineered-stone-alternatives/103185450
Silicosis can come from a wide variety of sources, basically anything where stone dust occurs can produce it, even natural stone countertop manufacturing has long been known to be dangerous in that regard.
This whole ban feels more like populism than addressing the real problems. Engineered stone has become a popular material, lots of people have worked with it with insufficient safety precautions and now there’s a number of people permanently disabled by it.
Simply banning engineered stone won’t solve that problem, since it will now just happen with other materials.
You wouldn’t generally get all federal and state governments signing on to something that is just ‘populism’.
Engineered stone is more dangerous than natural stone because it contains much more silica, and so it has resulted in an acute accelerated form of silicosis: https://www.medicalrepublic.com.au/why-silicosis-is-on-the-rise-and-what-to-do-about-it/24559
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This comment gives a great summary, better than I can do: https://aussie.zone/comment/5073286
(In case that comment disappears for any reason, though:
Particularly there is this report: https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-02/decision_ris_-_managing_the_risks_of_crystalline_silica_at_work_-_for_publication_pdf.pdf
But broadly, engineered stone is significantly different because of both its composition and how it’s used. The proof of the pudding, though, is that with its rise in popularity we’ve also seen the rise of these ‘acute accelerated’ cases of silicosis.)
yeah the real issue they need to come down hard on is disregard for oh&s in the building industry, poor education and worker exploitation. I expect this to happen around the same time my grandmother’s pig sprouts wings and takes flight.
Why can’t we just have stainless steel?
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Why not gold?
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Laminated / coated mdf is shit and it looses its colour in kitchen environments pretty quickly and stains are impossible to remove
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Laminated chipboard/MDF or natural stone mainly, depending on how expensive ones tastes and budget are. Still wouldn’t want to be breathing dust from either of those though…
As another comment suggests stainless steel is another option, or perhaps even expoxied timber/bamboo. These do suffer from aesthetic and durability issues respectively though when it comes to trying to convince people to use them.
Laminated wood products suck for countertops. If the sealing isn’t completely perfect and water is ever allowed to sit on a joint, the fibers will swell and you get a bump that progresses to a crumbly mess. The damage is not repairable without replacement either.
N.B. Porcelain is a silicate. Clay dust exposure is one of the traditional causes of silicosis, potters are (mostly) taught to clean their workplaces with hoses not brooms.
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No it isn’t.
How about real stone? That’s pretty analogous to fake stone. Wood isn’t even pretending.
I’m sure you’ll find breathing stone dust doesn’t do you any favour’s either. Strange to be they banned the product instead of mandating wet saws or something.
Right? Use filters yo.
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Funnily enough, we ended up with a very pretty real granite in our kitchen last year because it was 25% cheaper than the engineered options we found.
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There’s the acrylic polymer/stone blend like Corian. Though that might be the $$$ option.