Researchers from the University of Adelaide and the University of Tasmania have found other substances in engineered stone that are damaging to workers’ lungs aside from silica.
The research is the first worldwide study that looked into the composition of more than 50 engineered stone products to identify which components pose the greatest risk to lung health, according to Dr Chandnee Ramkissoon, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Public Health, who led the study.
“Our research showed engineered stone’s metal components may also be hazardous to lung health. In particular, cobalt and aluminium have been associated with lung inflammation,” Ramkissoon said.
Researchers exposed human lung cells to respirable dust from 50 resin-based engineered stones, three natural stones, and two non-resin-based materials.
“Unlike natural stone, engineered stone emissions contained up to 20 per cent resin, and during cutting and grinding there is the potential for resin to break down and generate harmful chemicals such as styrene,” Ramkissoon explained.
The potential for co-exposure to various hazards has significant implications for new emerging stone alternatives on the market, particularly reduced-silica or silica-free stones.
“Our research cautions against such claims and proposes further research to understand fully the risks workers are exposed to in the silica dust-generating industries, such as the stone benchtop industry.”
A recent study from the School of Public Health’s Adelaide Exposure Science and Health laboratory revealed that processing engineered stone can lead to exposure to very high levels of respirable crystalline silica (RCS), which is a carcinogen that can cause the disease called Silicosis.
Silicosis had been largely eliminated in Australia before the emergence of engineered stone. In the past, the disease would take decades to develop into more serious conditions like cancer and fibrosis.
However, the latest study led by Ramkissoon, revealed that occupational silicosis from engineered stone develops much quicker.
“The form of disease in this occupational group is very severe, characterised by a short latency period and rapid progression to fibrosis and cancer, developing after only a few years of exposure to engineered stone dusts,” Dr Ramkissoon said.
Researchers in the study hope that their work will lead to the meaningful regulation of the production of engineered stone, which fully accounts for the dangerous materials it contains, to protect industrial workers from occupational lung diseases.
Their study was published in the journal Respirology.
