At a glance

Essential Site Skills is urging UK employers to address dangerous silica dust exposure in the engineered stone industry after a Sky News investigation revealed significant health risks, including silicosis and deaths. The Health and Safety Executive found safety concerns in 58% of businesses inspected, prompting calls for a ban on engineered stone used in kitchen worktops. Essential Site Skills emphasises the need for better dust control and training across construction and related trades to prevent irreversible lung damage.

Construction health and safety specialist Essential Site Skills is urging employers to take urgent action after an investigation revealed widespread concerns over dangerous silica dust exposure in the UK’s engineered stone industry.

A Sky News investigation has revealed that Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors raised concerns at 58% of the businesses they visited during a crackdown on unsafe working practices involving engineered stone. The investigation also highlighted more than 50 confirmed cases of silicosis and four deaths in the UK, prompting renewed calls for a ban on engineered stone, commonly used to manufacture quartz kitchen worktops.

Silicosis is an incurable lung disease caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica (RCS), a fine dust released when materials containing silica are cut, drilled or ground. Workers can be exposed to dangerous levels of dust while manufacturing and installing kitchen worktops, often without immediately realising the damage being done to their lungs.

Now Essential Site Skills, a UK construction training and health and safety specialist, is warning that the findings must serve as a wake-up call for employers across construction, manufacturing and related trades.

Catherine Storer, Director at Essential Site Skills, said:

“Nobody should be risking their life to manufacture a kitchen worktop.

“We’re talking about workers developing irreversible lung damage from a hazard that is entirely preventable with the right controls in place. These aren’t freak accidents or unavoidable risks. They’re failures in how workplace health is being managed.

“What’s particularly concerning is how silently this damage can develop. Workers might finish their shift feeling absolutely fine, completely unaware that the dust they’re breathing could have life-changing consequences years down the line.

“We’ve spent decades talking about the dangers of asbestos. We cannot afford to look back in another twenty years and ask why we didn’t do more about silica dust when the warnings were already there.”

The HSE introduced strengthened guidance in May 2026, making clear that dry cutting engineered stone is unacceptable and setting out measures employers must take to control exposure. The regulator has also launched a nationwide programme of more than 1,000 inspections, with enforcement action already taken against businesses failing to protect workers.

But Essential Site Skills believes the wider construction industry must recognise that silica exposure is not confined to kitchen worktop manufacturing. Cutting concrete, drilling masonry, grinding stone and working with bricks or tiles can all release respirable crystalline silica.

Catherine added:

“The conversation might have started with kitchen worktops, but the risks extend much further.

“Construction businesses need to be asking some difficult questions. Are we controlling dust properly? Is our respiratory protection suitable? Have workers received the right training? And, crucially, are we checking that the measures we’ve put in place actually work?

“A dust mask alone isn’t a dust management strategy. Employers must tackle exposure at source and ensure workers have the right equipment, knowledge and protection for the job.

“Whether engineered stone is eventually banned or not, businesses already have a legal responsibility to protect their workers. That responsibility cannot wait for another headline or another tragedy.”

Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), employers must assess and adequately control exposure to hazardous substances, including respirable crystalline silica.

Essential Site Skills provides workplace health and safety training, including Dust Management, Face Fit Testing and Face Fit Train the Tester courses, helping organisations build awareness of occupational dust hazards and strengthen respiratory protection arrangements.

Editorial insight

The renewed focus on silica dust exposure in the engineered stone industry follows a series of regulatory inspections and media investigations that have brought the issue into sharper relief for UK employers. While the risks associated with respirable crystalline silica have long been recognised in construction, the scale of recent enforcement action and the confirmation of silicosis cases indicate that compliance gaps remain across the sector.

For employers and contractors, the findings serve as a practical reminder of their legal duties under COSHH and the need for robust dust control measures, not only in kitchen worktop manufacturing but across a wide range of construction and manufacturing activities. With the Health and Safety Executive already strengthening its guidance and stepping up inspections, businesses in affected trades may face increased scrutiny in the months ahead, making proactive risk management and staff training essential to avoid enforcement action and safeguard worker health.

Story ideas and journalist angles

Regulation

Calls for Engineered Stone Ban Gain Momentum Amid Silica Dust Concerns

The latest investigation into silica dust exposure has reignited calls for a ban on engineered stone, particularly in the context of kitchen worktop manufacturing, as cases of silicosis and work-related fatalities come to light.

Target audience who would cover this Story potential 8/10 Industry trend

UK Construction Industry Faces Scrutiny Over Silica Dust Safety Practices

The construction sector is under increasing pressure to address health risks associated with silica dust, following a significant number of safety violations found during industry inspections.

Target audience who would cover this Story potential 7/10