Silicosis fears for tradies

THE region’s tradies are falling victim to a silent and debilitating condition caused by invisible dust amid Geelong’s housing boom, doctors says.

It has been revealed working with artificial stone can cause a particularly aggressive strain of the lung disease silicosis.

Health professionals are desperately working to raise awareness of the deadly disease, which occurs after being exposed to cyrstaline silica dust.

Crystalline silica has long been contained in materials including bricks and concrete, but in more recent times has been found in ultra-high concentrations in artificial stone benchtops.

Western Victoria Primary Health Network clinical spokeswoman Dr Anne Stephenson said people could go many years without realising they had acquired the disease.

One respiratory specialist in the Geelong region was managing six active cases, a “significant increase” on rates in the region previously, Dr Stephenson said.

Silicosis initially has no symptoms, but eventually can lead to breathlessness, coughing and requiring a lung transplant.

Dr Stephenson said the disease had the capacity to destroy lives, but many people were not aware of the risks.

“People who are working in these industries need to be aware they should be getting checked,” she said.

“We always recommend people in these industries get screened, not wait until symptoms.”

Dr Stephenson said, with the high levels of development in the Geelong region, doctors believed cases could be on the rise due to a higher number of workers on construction sites.

There was a spate of cases in Queensland where workers who had cut and polished artificial stone for benchtops contracted accelerated silicosis, a severe and rapid form of the disease.

Barwon Health director of respiratory medicine Dr James Malone said there was a WorkSafe screening program underway for stonemasons who have been exposed to crystalline silica, mainly from work with artificial stone benchtops.

“Some cases of silicosis have been identified in local tradespeople,” Dr Malone said.

“There is a wide spectrum of silica-related respiratory disease, which together are grouped under the term ‘silicosis’.”

“We are not seeing many admissions to Barwon Health for patients with silicosis yet, and in most cases we are talking about chronic lung disease, not acute admissions.

“There are a much larger number of workers who have evidence of less severe forms of silicosis on CT scans, and many of these individuals may never suffer significant health effects.”