Can Quartz Worktops Give You Silicosis?

The quartz kitchen worktop has become one of the most popular home renovation choices in the UK over the past decade. Durable, low-maintenance, aesthetically consistent, and considerably cheaper than natural granite or marble — it sits in millions of kitchens. The workers who cut, grind, and polish it to fit are developing an incurable lung disease.

According to reporting by Homebuilding & Renovating in December 2025, Marek Marzec — a 48-year-old stonemason who came to the UK from Poland in 2011 — died from respiratory failure caused by silicosis after years of cutting high-silica quartz worktops. His death was officially recorded as Artificial Stone Silicosis. His family described his passing as entirely preventable and directly linked to the material he worked with for over a decade.

His case is not isolated. According to the Lungs at Work clinic at the Royal Brompton Hospital — the UK's leading centre for occupational lung disease — at least 45 workers have now been diagnosed with silicosis from engineered stone work in the UK, many of them in their twenties and thirties. Some have already died. Some have required lung transplants.

This is an occupational health crisis that has been building for years — and it is not going away.

TL;DR

• Silicosis is an irreversible, incurable lung disease caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust. There is no treatment. The only option in the most severe cases is lung transplant.
• According to a BMJ Group review of the Thorax study, artificial stone contains more than 90% crystalline silica — significantly higher than natural granite at around 30% and marble at around 3%. Cutting, grinding, or polishing it generates fine silica dust particles that penetrate deep into the lungs.
• At least 45 UK workers have been diagnosed with engineered stone silicosis, according to the Lungs at Work clinic. Many are in their twenties and thirties. The disease is progressing faster than traditional silicosis.
• Australia became the first country to ban engineered stone in 2024, extended to include importation in January 2025, following recommendations from Safe Work Australia confirming the link between silica dust and fatal lung diseases.

In November 2025, clinicians, MPs, union leaders, and legal teams met at Westminster's All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health to discuss a UK-wide ban.

Workers most affected are often migrants in small fabrication shops — among the most economically vulnerable members of the workforce.

What Silicosis Is

Silicosis is a form of pulmonary fibrosis — irreversible scarring of the lung tissue caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust. According to the British Safety Council, the dust is fine enough to permeate the lungs and can cause silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer.

The scarring is permanent. As it spreads, the lungs lose their capacity to expand and exchange oxygen. There is no medication that reverses the damage and no cure. The most severe cases require lung transplant assessment — though transplants do not cure the underlying disease and outcomes can continue to deteriorate.

The disease has three recognised forms. Chronic silicosis develops after ten or more years of lower-level exposure — the historical pattern in mining. Accelerated silicosis develops after five to ten years of higher exposure. Acute silicosis — the form increasingly seen in engineered stone workers — can develop after months to a few years of very high exposure and progresses rapidly to respiratory failure.

According to a BMJ Group summary of the Thorax clinical paper, silicosis can closely mimic sarcoidosis — which is one reason it is frequently misdiagnosed initially, delaying treatment and worsening outcomes for workers who may already have significant lung damage by the time the correct diagnosis is made.

Why Engineered Stone Is Different From Natural Stone

The central problem with engineered stone is its exceptionally high silica content.

According to the Breathing Matters review of the occupational literature, artificial stone contains more than 90% crystalline silica — compared to approximately 30% in granite and approximately 3% in marble. When cut, ground, or polished, engineered stone generates extremely fine silica dust particles. Unlike natural stone, which varies in composition from slab to slab, engineered stone is manufactured to be consistent — and consistently high in silica throughout.

According to the British Safety Council, quartz is one of the hardest minerals on Earth — which makes it ideal for use in worktops, but also means the dust particles it generates when worked are particularly fine and particularly dangerous. They penetrate deep into the lung tissue in ways that coarser dust particles do not.

According to the BMJ Group summary of the Thorax study, when worktops are prepared for installation they are often cut and polished dry, without water to suppress dust generation, which further increases the volume of fine airborne particles. Wet cutting reduces but does not eliminate this risk.

The British Safety Council notes that while there is no single universally defined safe level of silica content, the Health and Safety Executive's Workplace Exposure Limit for silica is designed to require employers to keep exposure below a specified level through effective controls. The challenge is that in small fabrication workshops — where much of this work takes place — investment in and enforcement of these controls is inconsistent.

The UK Picture

According to the British Safety Council, the UK reported no cases of artificial stone silicosis until mid-2023, when eight men with silicosis suspected to be caused by their work manufacturing and installing stone kitchen worktops were referred to the occupational lung disease department at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.

The BMJ Group summary of the Thorax study — written by the Royal Brompton team — describes these first eight UK cases in detail. All were men. Their median age was 34. Their median stone dust exposure was 12.5 years, though in four cases it was only four to eight years. All were dry cutting and polishing artificial stone worktops with inadequate safety measures. One was deceased at the time of publication. Two were referred for lung transplant assessment.

Since 2023 the case count has grown rapidly. The Lungs at Work clinic at the Royal Brompton Hospital reports at least 45 UK workers now diagnosed, with some already dead and others awaiting transplant assessment.

The British Safety Council describes the profile of affected workers as predominantly migrants, often in small fabrication workshops, who may lack the language skills, employment security, or occupational health access to raise concerns or seek early diagnosis. The disease develops silently — a persistent cough, breathlessness — before escalating to a severity that cannot be ignored. By that point, significant irreversible damage has typically already occurred.

The Call for a Ban

The BMJ Group summary of the Thorax study reports that the clinical team treating the first UK cases concluded it may now be time to ban artificial stone used in kitchen worktops in order to prevent the incurable lung disease its manufacturing and installation causes.

According to the Lungs at Work clinic website, Dr Johanna Feary spoke to MPs and peers at the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health in November 2025 about the increasing number of patients diagnosed with silicosis caused by artificial stone. Industry experts, clinicians, politicians, union leaders, and legal teams came together at Westminster to discuss the dangers. Many are calling for a UK-wide ban.

The case for a ban centres on the silica concentration argument. The British Safety Council notes that granite at around 30% silica and marble at around 3% silica present manageable occupational risks with appropriate protection. Engineered stone at over 90% silica presents a fundamentally different risk profile — one where the margin for safety measure failure is too narrow for confidence that controls alone can protect workers adequately.

The counter-argument, as the British Safety Council reports, is that a ban on the material itself is too blunt an instrument — that enforcing proper safety practices, wet cutting, and dust extraction would be sufficient. The clinical response, reflected in the Thorax paper and the parliamentary advocacy, is that the evidence from the UK, Australia, Spain, Israel, Italy, and elsewhere does not support this position.

The Australia Precedent

Australia became the first country to ban engineered stone in 2024 following a dramatic rise in silicosis cases among workers. According to the British Safety Council, the ban prohibits the use, supply, and manufacture of engineered stone. In January 2025, it was extended to include importation. The decision was based on recommendations from Safe Work Australia, which found clear evidence linking silica dust exposure to silicosis and other fatal lung diseases.

The Breathing Matters review describes the comparison being made by public health campaigners to asbestos — another material whose occupational health risks were known for years before regulation caught up with the evidence. The material is sometimes referred to as the asbestos of the 2020s in campaigning literature, reflecting the trajectory of emerging cases, legal action, and regulatory response.

The UK is now following the trajectory that Australia acted on. The clinical evidence is accumulating in the same pattern — young workers, often migrants, developing accelerated silicosis from worktop fabrication. The difference is timing and political will.

What Workers Need to Know

If you cut, grind, polish, or sand engineered stone or high-silica quartz worktops — in a fabrication shop, on a building site, or during kitchen installation — the following is clinically important.

Get your lungs checked. The Lungs at Work clinic at the Royal Brompton Hospital advises workers who have worked with artificial stone to get their lungs checked. A chest X-ray and spirometry test from a GP can detect early signs of silicosis before it becomes severe. Early detection does not reverse damage but can prompt the most important protective action available — stopping further exposure.

Know the symptoms. Persistent cough that does not resolve, progressive breathlessness during activity, chest tightness, and fatigue are the primary early symptoms of silicosis. They are easy to attribute to other causes. If you work with engineered stone and have these symptoms, push for a chest X-ray and mention your occupation explicitly to your GP.

Wet cutting matters — but is not sufficient on its own. Using water suppression during cutting reduces airborne dust significantly compared to dry cutting. It does not bring exposure to zero. Properly fitted P3 respirators are the additional layer required alongside wet cutting and extraction ventilation.

You have workplace rights. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers are legally required to assess and control exposure to hazardous substances including respirable crystalline silica. If dust control measures are inadequate in your workplace, you can report this to the Health and Safety Executive — anonymously if you prefer.

If you have been diagnosed with silicosis from engineered stone work, you may be eligible for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit from the DWP. Ask your GP for a referral to an occupational lung disease specialist — the Lungs at Work clinic at the Royal Brompton Hospital is the leading UK centre for this condition.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is silicosis?

Silicosis is an irreversible, incurable lung disease caused by inhaling crystalline silica dust. The dust causes permanent scarring of the lung tissue that progressively reduces lung capacity. There is no treatment to reverse the damage. The most severe cases require lung transplant assessment. According to clinical reporting from the Royal Brompton Hospital, UK workers are developing an accelerated form of silicosis from cutting engineered stone worktops — with some cases progressing to severity requiring transplant assessment within months to a few years of exposure.

Why are quartz kitchen worktops dangerous to workers?

Engineered stone — the quartz composite used in most modern kitchen worktops — contains more than 90% crystalline silica, according to a BMJ Group summary of the Thorax clinical study. This is far higher than natural granite at around 30% or marble at around 3%. When cut, ground, or polished, it generates extremely fine silica dust particles that penetrate deep into the lungs. The combination of very high silica content and the fine particle size of the dust makes engineered stone significantly more hazardous to fabricate than natural stone.

Has the UK banned engineered stone?

Not yet — as of May 2026, the UK has not banned engineered stone. Australia banned it in 2024 and extended the ban to importation in January 2025. According to the Lungs at Work clinic, clinicians, MPs, unions, and legal professionals called for a UK ban at a Westminster parliamentary group meeting in November 2025. The Health and Safety Executive currently requires employers to control dust exposure through wet cutting, ventilation, and respiratory protection.

Who is most at risk from silicosis in the UK?

Workers who cut, grind, or polish engineered stone and high-silica quartz worktops — primarily in kitchen fabrication workshops. According to the British Safety Council and clinical reporting from the Royal Brompton Hospital, many of those diagnosed have been young male migrant workers in small fabrication shops with inadequate dust control. Workers in mining, quarrying, and construction also face silicosis risk from other silica-containing materials, but the concentrated silica content of engineered stone has produced an accelerated form in younger workers with shorter exposure periods.

What should I do if I have worked with engineered stone and am worried about my lungs?

The Lungs at Work clinic at the Royal Brompton Hospital advises workers who have worked with artificial stone to get their lungs checked. See your GP and ask specifically for a chest X-ray and lung function test. Mention that you have worked with engineered stone or quartz and state how many years. If silicosis is suspected, ask for a referral to an occupational lung disease specialist. Early detection, while it cannot reverse damage, can prompt stopping further exposure — the most important action available.

Is there any treatment for silicosis?

No — silicosis is irreversible and incurable. There is no medication that reverses the lung scarring. Management focuses on slowing progression and managing symptoms. The most severe cases are assessed for lung transplant, though this is a high-risk procedure and the underlying disease can continue to affect outcomes. Stopping further silica exposure immediately is the single most important action for anyone diagnosed.

The Bottom Line

Silicosis from engineered stone is killing workers in the UK. The clinical evidence has been accumulating since the first eight cases were reported to the Royal Brompton Hospital in mid-2023. The case count has grown rapidly since. Some of those workers have died. Some are waiting for lung transplants. Many are in their twenties and thirties.

Australia banned the material after following this same trajectory. The UK clinical community, parliamentary representatives, and trade unions are calling for the same response. The evidence that prompted Australia's ban is now present in the UK.

For workers who cut quartz worktops — and for anyone who employs them — the message from the occupational lung disease community is consistent: wet cutting and respiratory protection reduce but do not eliminate the risk, early lung health checks matter, and stopping exposure is the most protective action available to anyone already diagnosed.

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