New HSE Advice for Stoneworkers

What’s changing? 

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued some new guidance for the managers, supervisors and employees involved in the installation of stone worktops, however the hierarchy of control outlined is sensible to apply these principles when working with stone in general. 

The aim of the guidance is to set out how to protect workers from the exposure of harmful respirable dusts such as silica.  

The guidance is broken down into four stages: competent staff & effective processes, pre-installation, onsite installation, and post-installation. 

 

What does the law say?  

The employer’s duty of care is set out in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), where they are required to take action to protect workers from harmful substances i.e. dust, silica etc.  

 

What is respirable crystalline silica? 

Silica is found in natural rocks in the earth’s crust, such as sand, sandstone, granite and clay, but it can also be found in manmade items such as concrete, bricks and tiles. 

It’s particularly hazardous for those working in the construction, but also consider if you work in Manufacturing, building merchants, retailers or suppliers; and trades, such as plastering, decorating and stonemasonry (even in the funeral sector!).

 

Why are they looking at RCS or construction dust? 

HSE refers to silica as “the biggest risk to construction workers after asbestos”. It is estimated that a significant number of workers are exposed to silica in the UK each year, excluding the many undiagnosed and unrecorded cases.

Workers can be exposed to silica dust through the dust generated from activities such as cutting, grinding, drilling and polishing of many commonly used materials such as brick, tile, stone, concrete and mortar.

In the HSE’s latest statistics for 2024, it’s estimated that occupational lung diseases contribute to 12,000 deaths every year in the UK; that’s an equivalent number of deaths to the population of one of the following towns every year:

• Diss
• Penistone
• Codsall
• Atherstone
• Featherstone
• Holyhead
• Amesbury
• Cranleigh

 

What are the risks? 

Silicosis – this can appear in various forms:  

• Acute silicosis – develops quickly after high levels of exposure  

• Accelerated silicosis – large amounts of silica dust in less than 10 years  

• Chronic silicosis – exposure of low levels for more than 10 years  

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – severe lung disease causing restricted airflow and breathing problems  

Lung cancer – a type of cancer that starts in the lungs or windpipe. 

Kidney disease – damage to the kidneys meaning they can’t filter blood properly. It can be acute or chronic. 

 

What needs to be in place?  

As an employer, the first steps you need to take are to identify and assess the risk of silica exposure to your workers, typically this is done by recording it on a CoSHH Assessment. You’ll then need to follow the hierarchy of control to make sure that you are doing what you need to do to protect your workers:

1. Elimination: The most effective control measure, which involves completely removing the hazardous substance or process.
2. Substitution: Replacing a hazardous substance with a less harmful alternative to reduce risks.
3. Engineering Controls: Implementing physical measures such as ventilation, local exhaust systems, or containment to control exposure to hazardous substances.
4. Administrative Controls: Introducing work practices, training, and policies to limit exposure time or reduce the number of individuals exposed to the substance.
5. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Providing suitable protective gear like gloves, masks, or protective clothing to workers when other controls are not sufficient or feasible.

This hierarchy ensures that the most effective controls are applied first, focusing on eliminating or reducing risks at their source before relying on protective equipment.

 

What else do you need to do?

Health surveillance for workers who may be exposed to harmful dusts is crucial in ensuring that control measures are working.

This is particularly important for workers involved in high-risk occupations including construction, foundry  work, brick and tile work, ceramics, slate, manufacturing, quarries and stonework.

 

The HSE recommend periodic health surveillance for employees at varying stages of exposure to RCS. Baseline 

assessments are advised before or shortly after first exposure – following annual assessments for pre-existing  

workers. Health surveillance methods can include: 

• Respiratory questionnaires (baseline method for new entrants) 

• Lung function testing (baseline method for new entrants) 
• Baseline chest x-ray (for pre-existing employees) 

 

Guidance overview  

Competent staff and effective processes

Do  Ensure you and fellow installers are trained to work with stone and know how to report any issues occurring on-site.   Regularly check and maintain any equipment that may be needed on-site.  Ensure filters in on-tool extraction, vacuums and RPE are changed, as necessary.

Don’t  Use untrained installers – handling and fitting stone worktops, even without on-site fabrication, can put your health at risk.  Provide or use inadequate, or poorly maintained tools or controls.

 

Pre-installation  

Do                                                                                               Check the specification before starting installation and ensure that any optional aspects are resolved   Eliminate on-site fabrication as much as possible   Use accurate measurements for fabrication  Identify any fabrication tasks that must be done on-site, and any controls required

Don’t  Carry out additional fabrication tasks on-site that have not been covered within the specification  Do fabrication tasks on-site that could be done in the workshop.   Rely on poor measurements or estimates  Assume any combination of controls will work

 

On-site installation  

Do  Any minor on-site modifications in a well-ventilated, segregated area with restricted access, (ideally outdoors) using appropriate controls.  Use appropriate controls i.e.: on-tool controls like water suppression or on-tool extraction with shroud and dust collector attached to M class vacuum (see note below)   It is important to note that the HSE mandates the use of M class vacuums as a key effective control measure for reducing dust exposure.   Use RPE with APF (Assigned Protection Factor) of at least 20 Shut down any local heating systems with blowers or air-conditioning units that could resuspend settled dust.

Don’t  Carry out major modifications on-site. Take your worktop back to the workshop  Rely on RPE alone unless your risk assessment shows it is adequate.  Assume all air movement is good ventilation – check that any airborne dust is being carried away from workers

 

Post installation 

Do  Clean up after installation – use wet methods (e.g. low-pressure wet hosing) or vacuum (dust class M) and RPE.  Discard all stone waste materials (wet slurry & captured dust) promptly in a safe manner.  Avoid transferring dust between areas by keeping PPE clean e.g. Use a vacuum to clean coveralls when leaving a dusty area.

Don’t   Use any cleaning method that creates airborne dust e.g. dry sweeping or compressed air.  Delay cleaning up – wet slurries can dry out, and dust become airborne.  Use dry brushing or compressed air to clean dust-off work clothing.