I developed incurable lung disease after five years of working with toxic stone worktops - now I can't walk more than a few steps READ MORE: Calls to ban quartz kitchen worktops due to lung disease risk By John Ely Deputy Health Editor For Mailonline Published: 11:41, 7 August 2024 | Updated: 11:48, 7 August 2024 e-mail View comments A stonemason who developed an incurable lung disease after making quartz kitchen worktops has shared the devastating impact it's had on his life. Malik Al-Khalil, 31, was first employed to make the trendy counters six years ago, and recalls coming home caked in the dust created when the material was cut. Little did he know the dust, which he was also inhaling, was slowly destroying his lungs: today he struggles to breathe and is unable to walk unaided.
His body has been ravaged by silicosis, a terrifying disease that medics say could kill him. Mr Al-Khalil, who is originally from Syria , is one of the few public faces of the scandal that has already killed one British stoneworker , with almost a dozen others rendered severely ill from silicosis. A stonemason who developed an incurable lung disease as a consequence of working quartz kitchen worktops has shared the devastating impact it's had on his life (stock image) Silicosis, via the fine particles workers inhale, causes internal scarring and inflammation of the lungs.
Pictured silicosis of the lung tissue under magnification However, doctors have warned that the known cases are likely just the .