Builders risk having sites shut down immediately if they fail to comply with a new ban on the dry cutting of engineered stone, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned.
By Belinda Liversedge on 05 June 2026
The message from the HSE is clear: dry cutting of engineered stone must stop, or employers will face the consequences.
By Belinda Liversedge on 11 May 2026
An awareness campaign has taken to the streets of Sheffield to highlight the growing threat of “silent killer” silicosis to workers across the UK.
By Belinda Liversedge on 20 March 2026
With concerns rising that workers who manufacture and install artificial stone kitchen worktops are at high risk of early-onset fatal lung disease, it is vital employers take steps to prevent and control exposure to respirable crystalline silica found in engineered stone materials.
By Tim Turney, Casella on 23 September 2025
To anyone outside the occupational safety and health (OSH) field, the job may appear deceptively simple. First, we identify hazards, then we create solutions, and finally, we watch risks disappear into history.
By Mike Robinson FCA on 01 September 2025
A manufacturer of popular stone kitchen worktops has been fined £60,000 after HSE inspectors found evidence of shocking failures to control dust exposure in the Slough workshop.
By Belinda Liversedge on 06 June 2025
Engineered stone dust contains up to 95 per cent silica, and younger workers are dying in its wake from a disease known as accelerated silicosis. Are we going fast enough to address the problem?
By Belinda Liversedge on 26 May 2025
Exposure to large amounts of silica dust was among a “catalogue of failures” at an east London construction site, a court heard.
By Belinda Liversedge on 19 March 2025
A stonemasonry firm has received a fine of almost £20,000 for failing to protect workers from silica dust, as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued new advice for stone worktop installers amid continued calls for engineered stone to be banned over its links to silicosis.
By Kerry Reals on 10 January 2025
The sudden and alarming appearance of silicosis cases among engineered stone workers in the UK, against the backdrop of a ban in Australia and in some US States, has suddenly brought the question of how to regulate for health protection in the workplace to the fore.
By Kevin Bampton, BOHS on 04 September 2024
