Kitchen company Herringbone is the first to ban the sale of high-silica quartz worktops after the risks posed to stonemasons prompted a ban in Australia
As awareness increases of the health risks posed to stonecutters by engineered stone, Herringbone has become the first UK kitchen company to ban the sale of high-silica quartz.
High-silica quartz is currently one of the most prolific worktop materials in the UK. While there appear to be no risks to clients or installers of the material, the risk comes when it is produced and cut by stonemasons.
While this product is not currently being considered for a ban in the UK, it will be banned in Australia from July 2024, and other countries are considering similar bans.
Silica dust poses considerable risk to those exposed to it
A recent report from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) shed light on the health risks posed by the use of high-silica quartz in engineered stone, linking it to serious respiratory illnesses among workers in California.
Silica is naturally occurring in stone such as granite and marble at between 5-40%, however, in engineered quartz it can be as high as 97%.
Also known as respirable crystalline silica (RCS), silica dust causes fibrosis (scarring) in lung tissue, reducing function and has been linked to lung cancer.
HSE considers silica dust “the biggest risk to construction workers after asbestos” and an APPG report estimated that 600,000 workers in the UK are exposed to the substance each year.
Implementing a more ethical production process
William Durrant, co-owner of Herringbone, said “Our priority is to keep our staff, suppliers, and clients safe and so we will no longer be offering high-silica quartz options to new clients. Our stonemasons are confident that they have the strongest health and safety measures in place to protect their team and use water cutting to ensure this is safely done in their factory. However, for us these risks are not necessary when there are alternatives on the market.
“We apologise to our clients that this is quite a big change for us in a short period of time, however, we wanted to act quickly to prevent anyone from being harmed.
“We are the first company in the UK that we know of to ban the sale of high-silica quartz, but we hope that more companies follow suit in the coming months. We hope you can understand why we made this decision and can stand behind us in working to keep the industry safe and accountable.”
