O-214 Silicosis in artificial stone benchtop workers: a warning from Australia

Introduction

The stone benchtop industry is a multi-billion dollar sector worldwide. High-silica content artificial stone has rapidly become a very popular material used to produce benchtops in many countries, including Australia. The Victorian Silica-associated Disease Registry was developed to record incident cases of silicosis occurring in Victoria, Australia.

Material and Methods

Since mid-2019 cases of silicosis have been voluntarily reported by respiratory physicians to the Registry. During the same period a protocolised, government funded screening programme for stone benchtop workers has been in operation. The screening protocol includes high resolution CT chest imaging, respiratory function tests and a panel of blood tests for at risk workers.

Results

Two hundred and two stone benchtop industry workers with silicosis were reported over a 30 month period. Twenty three percent had complicated silicosis. Seventy percent were identified through participation in the government screening programme. All cases were male with a median age of 42 years (interquartile range 35 – 50), and 46% were born overseas in an Asian country. The median duration of work in the benchtop industry was 13 years for those with simple silicosis and 15 years for complicated silicosis. Ninety-six percent primarily worked with artificial stone, and 99% had been exposed to dry processing of stone. Eighty-two percent worked mostly in a factory environment and 18% were installers of benchtops. Respiratory function test parameters were significantly lower and median serum angiotensin converting enzyme level higher for complicated compared to simple silicosis. Anti-nuclear antibodies were detectable (titre ≥ 1:80) for 32% with silicosis.

Conclusions

There has been a major outbreak of silicosis in the stone benchtop industry in Victoria, Australia. Considering the rapid increase in the use of high silica content artificial stone internationally, urgent action is required to ensure the occupational health and safety of workers in this industry.