More than half of kitchen worktop stone makers are carrying out unsafe cutting which leaves workers vulnerable to the toxic dust that causes silicosis, according to early evidence from the first nationwide inspection.
During a Parliamentary debate on the danger of silica dust, MPs praised The i Paper’s “extremely important” Killer Kitchens campaign which is exposing the lethal risks from cutting engineered stone – or quartz – worktops without proper safety tools.
More than 50 UK quartz stonemasons, many in their 20s and 30s, have been diagnosed with the incurable lung disease silicosis since mid-2023, with at least four dying and others referred for lung transplants. Recent analysis suggests the true figure could be more than 1,000.
Following pressure from this newspaper, a 12-month blitz to inspect the safety practices of 1,000 firms is underway. Of the handful checked so far by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors, more than half have been found to be risking workers’ lives, Government minister Sir Stephen Timms told MPs.
Thirteen businesses have been inspected since the end of April and of the 11 still trading, six were ordered to stop processing immediately with prohibition notices issued due to “dry cutting” without water to dampen the lethal lung-shredding dust as well as unguarded machinery.
Prohibition notices are issued by the HSE if the work carries a risk of serious injury.
Liz Jarvis, the Liberal Democrat MP who secured Tuesday’s debate, warned if early findings from HSE’s inspection campaign were extrapolated over the 1,000 firms targeted, it would mean a “huge” number of workers were being exposed to deadly dust from cutting the trendy kitchen worktops.
The debate on workplace exposure to silica dust was attended by Sandra Elliott, the widow of George Elliott, a stonemason who died of silicosis in 2023 and who had worked on refurbishments at No 10 Downing Street.
The HSE clampdown, its most significant intervention to date in the engineered stone industry, comes after The i Paper’s campaign demanded better protection for quartz tradespeople.
The long-running investigation has led to the HSE issuing its first regulatory guidance on quartz, warning firms that “wet cutting” with water to prevent dust is a legal requirement, and launching a kitemark-style safety scheme from the industry and the British Occupational Hygiene Society.
Caroline Hudson (L) and her sister Sandra Elliott, whose husband George died of silicosis, attended a Parliamentary debate on the dangers of silica dust (Photo: Joe Duggan)‘We didn’t even know what silicosis was’
Speaking beforehand, Sandra Elliott said she felt “very emotional” that MPs were sharpening their focus on the incurable occupational lung disease that killed her husband.
She told The i Paper: “I just want to help the people who’ve got this silicosis, and to know that we’re doing something to help them. George would be so proud.”
Her sister, Caroline Hudson, said: “Up until George died, we didn’t even know what silicosis was. He didn’t, and he was in the industry.
“It’s only through your campaign Killer Kitchens. We will always be eternally grateful to you.”
Eastleigh MP Jarvis, who represents Hudson’s constituency, warned silica dust inhalation could become “another scandal on the scale of asbestos”.
She questioned why the UK had not launched a screening programme of stonemasons to test for the lung disease, a scheme which was key to Australia detecting hundreds of silicosis cases and becoming the first country in the world to ban quartz.
“One of the most alarming aspects of this crisis is that we still do not know its true scale,” she said.
And she called for cross-party support for stronger legal protections, earlier detection, and meaningful action “before more lives are destroyed and more families suffer the heartbreak that George Elliott’s family have endured”.
Ian Lavery, the Labour MP for Blyth and Ashington, urged the Government to follow Australia and consider an outright ban on quartz.
‘We cannot have people dying so others can have nice worktops’
Lavery, an ex-president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), called for tougher enforcement of existing regulations and improved health surveillance of at-risk workers.
And he urged MPs to follow The i Paper’s Killer Kitchens campaign, paying tribute to it for highlighting the dangers of dry cutting quartz kitchen worktops.
“We cannot have people dying so that people can have nice worktops,” he said.
Jim Shannon, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for respiratory health, was also among the MPs calling for more effective protections.
MPs praise The i Paper’s Killer Kitchens campaign in parliament
During the Westminster Hall debate on silica dust, MPs praised the impact of The i Paper‘s Killer Kitchens campaign, which launched in 2025.
Liz Jarvis, Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleight, said: “I would like to recognise the journalists who have been campaigning and raising awareness of this issue, including Joe Duggan at The i Paper, and the all-party parliamentary group for respiratory health.
“Recent analysis provided to senior NHS officials and reported by The i Paper suggests that more than 1,000 UK stonemasons could already have silicosis linked to exposure to engineered stone.
“The same report estimates that around 4,000 workers in the UK may be operating in informal or illegal parts of the industry, where basic safety protections are routinely ignored.”
Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Blyth and Ashington, said: “I associate myself with The i Paper ‘Killer Kitchens’ campaign, led by journalist Joe Duggan, and I urge everyone to join that campaign.
“It is extremely important in highlighting the dangers of dry cutting quartz kitchen worktops. Minister, we cannot have people dying so that people can have nice worktops.”
Sir Stephen Timms, the Government minister overseeing the HSE, said: ” I commend the campaign of The i Paper on this issue and all those who are working to highlight this important and alarming development.”
Timms, the minister overseeing the HSE, said the UK was not currently proposing a ban on manmade quartz and highlighted the risk to workers cutting natural stone, too.
Australia’s ban has also led to concerns over “complacency” about dust when workers were cutting stone which is not banned.
The 13 firms inspected so far were visited after concerns were raised about them to the HSE, he said.
Eight received improvement notices for failing to provide the correct respiratory equipment or health surveillance for employees. Just one of the 13 was operating in an exemplary way, Timms said.
The emergence of accelerated silicosis linked to the processing engineered stone after only a few years of high dust exposure was ” particularly alarming”, Timms said, adding that he would keep monitoring UK and worldwide evidence on the risk from engineered stone.
Jarvis added: “I think they are going to have to act quickly, they are going to have to take this seriously. It remains to be seen what action is going to be taken.”
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