Australia's workplace ministers have agreed to implement a national ban on engineered stone, over concerns its use has led to a surge in silicosis cases among workers.
You are wrong to a degree, while the underlying issue is a lack of safe workplaces, engineered stone typically has a much higher rate of silicate (like 90 plus) compared to almost anything else
There are other types of engineered stone that are low in silicates
Oh, so they differ substantially, didn't know that (but makes sense bcs of the variety they produce). I'm not anti-ban (the work itself doesn't seem like it's worth the end product anyway), I would have just expected more regulation (safety, or just a ban in crystalline silica perhaps) instead of an overall ban. But that's just the EU in me talking, a ban is at least much clearer & in this case quicker to get passed.
Edit: actually safe work Australia already drafted guidelines, I guess they didn't catch on
Workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica:The eight-hour time weighted average workplace exposure standard (WES) for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is 0.05 mg/m3. This means that your workers must not be exposed to levels of RCS greater than 0.05 mg/m3 over an eight hour working day, for a five day working week.
Edit2: EU does have a directive in place but it's not yet implemented into law (like a 'delegated regulation' or a demand to incorporate it in local laws) + its still evolving so no actual limit numbers (or a complete ban) yet. EU directives usually work in such a way that at first they gather industry knowledge & best practices (via mandated reporting) that they then implement into law (more or less strict depending on the end goal, but in administration sense compatible with the current industry capabilities - I'm actually proud of the efficiency & lifecycles of such a system).
You are wrong to a degree, while the underlying issue is a lack of safe workplaces, engineered stone typically has a much higher rate of silicate (like 90 plus) compared to almost anything else
There are other types of engineered stone that are low in silicates
Oh, so they differ substantially, didn't know that (but makes sense bcs of the variety they produce). I'm not anti-ban (the work itself doesn't seem like it's worth the end product anyway), I would have just expected more regulation (safety, or just a ban in crystalline silica perhaps) instead of an overall ban. But that's just the EU in me talking, a ban is at least much clearer & in this case quicker to get passed.
Edit: actually safe work Australia already drafted guidelines, I guess they didn't catch on
Edit2: EU does have a directive in place but it's not yet implemented into law (like a 'delegated regulation' or a demand to incorporate it in local laws) + its still evolving so no actual limit numbers (or a complete ban) yet. EU directives usually work in such a way that at first they gather industry knowledge & best practices (via mandated reporting) that they then implement into law (more or less strict depending on the end goal, but in administration sense compatible with the current industry capabilities - I'm actually proud of the efficiency & lifecycles of such a system).