DOCTORS warn rising numbers of British men are getting a rare new type of lung disease from working with fake marble and granite. Medics have reported the UK’s first death and 11 cases of artificial stone silicosis, with patients’ average age just 34. They develop hard-to-treat scarring and injuries in the lungs from inhaling dust while working with material containing large amounts of silica.
Experts have called for a ban on quartz kitchens and bathrooms to ward off an asbestos-style lung disease epidemic in craftsmen. Leigh Day solicitors said they are taking on lawsuits from men as young as their 20s who have developed the illness. Material already banned in Australia Study author Dr Johanna Feary, lung disease expert at the Royal Brompton NHS trust in London, said: “The emergence of these cases is of real concern.
“It is affecting young men, many of whom have only worked with this material for a few years. “There is no good treatment and a diagnosis can be devastating. “The UK needs to learn from the experience in other countries and to act quickly to minimise the number of deaths in the months and years to come.
” High-silica artificial stone, also known as engineered stone or quartz, is already banned in Australia . Most read in Health It is popular in kitchen and bathroom renovation because it can be made to look like marble or granite but is much cheaper. Britain has legal silica dust exposure limits but they are hard to enforce and often exceeded, resear.