STONE COLD KILLER
DEADLY DISEASE: Spike in silicosis among our tradies
THE Geelong housing market’s appetite for low-cost stone benchtops has silently left some of the region’s tradies with a deadly lung disease.
Silicosis numbers are spiking, with one expert predicting it may take up to 10 years for the number of new cases to be brought under control by improved working regulations. WorkSafe data obtained by the Geelong Advertiser reveals there were five claims relating to silicosis made in Greater Geelong last year, despite none being made in the previous nine years.
The spike follows a concerning statewide trend, which saw Victorian claims skyrocket from four in 2017, to 19 in 2018 and 81 last year.
THE Geelong housing market’s appetite for low-cost stone benchtops has silently left the region’s tradies with a deadly disease.
Silicosis numbers are spiking, with one expert predicting it may take up to 10 years for the number of new cases to be brought under control by improved working regulations.
WorkSafe data revealed there were five claims relating to silicosis made in Greater Geelong last year, despite none being made in the previous nine years.
The spike follows a statewide trend that saw Victorian claims rise from four in 2017, to 19 in 2018 and 81 last year.
Silicosis is an incurable and often deadly lung disease caused by breathing invisible crystalline silica dust created when cutting stone products, with the silica found in high quantities in the manufactured stone frequently used for new benchtops.
The dust scars the inside of the lungs, causing shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing and fatigue — and sometimes leading to death — with symptoms typically taking at least three years to show.
Stonemasons have been caught in the firing line of the disease due to a historical lack of regulation and prevention measures.
Silicosis expert Graham Edwards — a member of the national dust disease taskforce — has warned Geelong and Victoria will see even more cases in coming years, despite improved regulations.
The demand for engineered stone caused by Geelong’s housing boom, along with an improving ability to detect silicosis at earlier stages, meant Geelong could expect to see case numbers grow, Dr Edwards said.
“The damage that we’re seeing today is the result of the exposure that occurred three, five, seven years ago,” he said.
“We will see more cases in the years to come, because of the past practices. All the safety procedures and protocols that have now been implemented, and we hope complied with, will minimise the number of new cases in three, five or 10 years’ time.
“Some of those (who) have already been exposed but have not yet developed the disease, it wouldn’t matter if they got out of the industry or not, the damage has already been done.”
State regulations announced in May last year banned the uncontrolled dry cutting of engineered stone to better protect workers from exposure to crystalline silica dust.
At the time, Premier Daniel Andrews also announced free healthcare screenings for the estimated 1400 Victorian stonemasons.
In July, the national dust disease taskforce was established to develop an approach to the prevention, identification, control and management of dust diseases.