Four companies have been ordered to stop working with engineered stone after failing to protect their employees from deadly silica dust, as part of a nationwide Health and Safety Executive (HSE) crackdown.
The businesses received prohibition notices following inspections by HSE officers, who found a lack of adequate control measures to keep workers safe while handling the material. The enforcement action requires the firms to halt work immediately and improve safety standards.
The move follows HSE’s announcement last month of a major package of measures to tackle the growing threat of silicosis, an incurable but preventable lung disease caused by breathing in respirable crystalline silica (RCS) released when stone is cut or processed. The regulator confirmed that dry cutting of engineered stone is unacceptable and that water suppression techniques are now the required legal standard.
Research has found that dry fabrication exposes workers to silica dust levels five to ten times higher than wet methods using equivalent tools. Engineered stone, widely used in kitchen and bathroom worktops, can contain up to 95% crystalline silica.
The regulator has also published its first-ever COSHH guidance sheet specifically for engineered stone, setting out employers’ legal obligations. These include switching to lower-silica products, using water suppression, providing appropriate respiratory protective equipment and carrying out regular health surveillance.
HSE plans to conduct more than 1,000 inspections across the industry through 2026 and 2027, with enforcement action promised against those failing to meet required standards.
Harvey Wild, Head of Operations at the Health and Safety Executive, said: ‘Our inspectors are visiting businesses across Great Britain to ensure that employers have implemented the correct controls to keep their employees safe.
‘We have stopped dangerous work with engineered stone in four workplaces due to serious failures in providing the correct controls.
‘Silicosis is incurable, but it is entirely preventable. No worker should lose their life to a lung disease caused by their job, and that is why we have taken this action. If businesses ensure the right controls are being used correctly, then the risks of engineered stone and silicosis can be safely managed. Where these are not in place, workers will be at risk.’
Minister for Social Security and Disability Sir Stephen Timms said: ‘Every worker deserves to come home safe, without fear of losing their life to a preventable, deadly lung disease caused by their job.
‘The enforcement action taken by HSE sends a clear message that putting workers at risk of silicosis – an entirely preventable but devastating disease – is completely unacceptable and there will be consequences.
‘I urge all businesses working with engineered stone to follow HSE’s guidance now. There is no excuse for exposing workers to unnecessary risk.’
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