Big cost of cheap stone

CHEAP artificial stone is incredibly popular in bathroom and kitchen renovations, but it’s coming at a cost to workers who cut and grind it.

Australian researchers are calling for an urgent review of occupational health and safety measures after they found seven men working in the benchtop fabrication industry developed silicosis.

The lung disease is caused by breathing in tiny bits of the mineral silica and has no treatment, except organ transplantation. The artificial stone, only available in Australia since 2000, has far higher levels of silica than natural stones like marble and granite.