Australia Engineered Stone Ban

[Keith 66]

Interesting article i saw online today re Engineered stone commonly used in sinks & worktops, Australia has become the first country in the world to ban its use due to links with silicosis. link here, https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/australia-bans-engineered-stone,
How many blokes do you see driving a paddy motorbike cutting stone or paving with no mask?

 

[optima21]

yeah silicosis is nothing new, I got a book from the mid 1930's about industrial injuries and diseases and there was a whole chapter on silicosis.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

In early 70's I worked in pottery factories and we used to have chest x-rays every year because the risk of silicosis

 

[Keith 66]

When i think of the fibreglass i hogged down with an angle grinder building & repairing boats I am glad that i bought a powered respirator back when i started out in 84, at times i felt i was living in it, three guys i knew died of that or similar disease.

 

[brightspark]

it always amuses me watching workers cutting concrete slabs with a stihlsaw shrouded in a cloud of dust and no mask on they must think the silica in the sand and cement doesn't exist

 

[Smallfry]

it always amuses me watching workers cutting concrete slabs with a stihlsaw shrouded in a cloud of dust and no mask on they must think the silica in the sand and cement doesn't exist

When I drive past any of this sort of work, I am more worried about my poor air filter.

 

[8ob]

it always amuses me watching workers cutting concrete slabs with a stihlsaw shrouded in a cloud of dust and no mask on they must think the silica in the sand and cement doesn't exist

So much of this is done in public places ( building sites/ hole in the road gangs), don't see them handing out the masks to passers by

Bob

 

[brightspark]

hse doesnt seem to bother 2 much about it . why not even if im drilling small 6.0mm holes up on a wall in the mortar i wont breath in the dust just hold my breath

 

[Robotstar5]

In early 70's I worked in pottery factories and we used to have chest x-rays every year because the risk of silicosis

We had the same at the Iron foundry in the 70's.

 

[bricol]

hse doesnt seem to bother 2 much about it . why not even if im drilling small 6.0mm holes up on a wall in the mortar i wont breath in the dust just hold my breath

Plenty of info on the HSE site about it - but like anything else where they list a load of info on it, if no-one reads it or applies it, it'll only come to peoples notice when something goes wrong, but I guess the odd few dying of it every year isn't in the same shock value area as people cooking in ovens, or crushed in machinery etc -just someone coughing their last on a hospital ward.

 

[Keith 66]

^^^^ This is just about it, main reason i left my last job as a school D&T technician was because the dust extraction fitted by the service provider to all the machines was basically not designed in the first place & woefully under specified. It simply barely worked at all.
I argued with Senior management & the service provider for 4 years & got nowhere. Staff went off sick with dust issues but they refused to fix it.
Even the lev reports were total cobblers. In the end i had a row & walked out. But unless some poor sod actually gets diagnosed with copd or occupational asthma the hse wont do anything.
We have or are going back to the bad old days.

 

[addjunkie]

But the sthil saw issue is fixed…..they all have a water connection now.


But that only works with water added

 

[Dilkris]

But the sthil saw issue is fixed…..they all have a water connection now.
But that only works with water added

Very true .... but read the thread "Water Regulations" started by "Bornfree" on Tuesday at 13.20.
Just wait - you won't be allowed to connect a stihl saw directly to the mains supply........

 

[Parm]

This is completely ridiculous

lots of things are dangerous, we can’t ban them all

They have completely forgotten about control of exposure

 

[Pete.]

This is completely ridiculous

lots of things are dangerous, we can’t ban them all

They have completely forgotten about control of exposure

Like the 'ban the broom' campaign that was taken up my quite a few main contractors. I was doing a demo job and asked how should I clear away dusty material and they said 'use a dust vac'. Yeah right, a dust vac on a demo job.

Then I found out the same contractor on another project (hospital) had a rechargeable vacuum cleaner that required a minimum of 3 hours' charging for 1 hours' hoovering.

Another site worrked on had banned wheelbarrows for being 'bad for your back'. I pointed out that manual handling regs REQUIRED you to use mechanical means to aid oving heavy materials, and a wheelbarrow can be esily used half full. As a matter of fact I constantly reming the labour that wheelbarrows only filled half way can be pushed around easily all day long whilst a full one is hard on both the barrow and the operative pushing it.

 

[ukracer]

This is completely ridiculous

lots of things are dangerous, we can’t ban them all

They have completely forgotten about control of exposure

I listened to a debate on football stewards and whether grounds need to go back to fences to prevent one numpty running onto the pitch and shouting at a poor footballer.

 

[MetalMonkey]

even if im drilling small 6.0mm holes up on a wall in the mortar i wont breath in the dust just hold my breath

Is that before or after you put the 25kg sack of kiln dried through the pressure pot?

 

[Shox Dr]

Another site worrked on had banned wheelbarrows for being 'bad for your back'. I pointed out that manual handling regs REQUIRED you to use mechanical means to aid oving heavy materials, and a wheelbarrow can be esily used half full. As a matter of fact I constantly reming the labour that wheelbarrows only filled half way can be pushed around easily all day long whilst a full one is hard on both the barrow and the operative pushing it.

Half filled barrow. Bugs the poo oot me. Load it to the front, the wheel takes the load.

We used to have competitions to see how many bricks you could loadand then push it 25m. Mind wheel barrows were built out of sheet and riveted and then hot dipped. These new pressed things bend like twigs with a full load

 

[Parm]

Like the 'ban the broom' campaign that was taken up my quite a few main contractors. I was doing a demo job and asked how should I clear away dusty material and they said 'use a dust vac'. Yeah right, a dust vac on a demo job.

Then I found out the same contractor on another project (hospital) had a rechargeable vacuum cleaner that required a minimum of 3 hours' charging for 1 hours' hoovering.

Another site worrked on had banned wheelbarrows for being 'bad for your back'. I pointed out that manual handling regs REQUIRED you to use mechanical means to aid oving heavy materials, and a wheelbarrow can be esily used half full. As a matter of fact I constantly reming the labour that wheelbarrows only filled half way can be pushed around easily all day long whilst a full one is hard on both the barrow and the operative pushing it.

using a broom causes massive dust disturbance which in turn causes huge secondary exposure

The two situations aren’t comparable

I fully support prohibiting brooms

 

[Shox Dr]

using a broom causes massive dust disturbance which in turn causes huge secondary exposure

The two situations aren’t comparable

I fully support prohibiting brooms

It only happens if you don't know how to use one. It's like loading the wheel barrow. If you need to explain how to use either. > Door Exit