In May, the HSE published its first ever COSHH guidance sheet specifically for engineered stone, and made one thing very clear: dry cutting is unacceptable. Water suppression is how businesses are expected to meet the legal requirement, and inspectors are now visiting fabricators across Great Britain to check.
This isn’t a warning shot. By the end of May, four companies had already been ordered to stop working with engineered stone entirely after inspectors found they lacked proper controls. The HSE plans more than 1,000 inspection visits over the next twelve months.
Why the HSE Acted
Engineered stone, the material behind most modern kitchen and bathroom worktops, can contain up to 95% crystalline silica. When it’s cut, drilled or polished, it releases respirable crystalline silica (RCS), a dust fine enough to reach deep into the lungs and invisible to the naked eye.
With natural stone, silica-related disease typically takes decades to develop. Engineered stone is different. Recent UK cases, including the deaths of young workers, have shown silicosis developing in a matter of months or years. Workers can suffer permanent lung damage before they notice any symptoms at all. That’s what pushed the HSE to act after a two-year research programme.
The research also found that dry fabrication exposes workers to RCS levels five to ten times higher than wet methods using the same tools.
What Employers Must Do
The guidance sets out the expectations in plain terms:
Use engineered stone with the lowest practicable silica content. Lower-silica products are available at the same quality, so there’s no longer a good reason not to switch.
Use on-tool water suppression when cutting, and control the mist it creates, because that mist also carries silica.
Provide suitable respiratory protective equipment for exposed workers.
And carry out regular health surveillance for anyone working with engineered stone.
That last one matters more than many businesses realise. Among the failures the HSE found at the four companies served with prohibition notices, missing health surveillance was on the list alongside inadequate RPE and ventilation. Inspectors are checking for it.
What Good Health Surveillance Looks Like Here
For silica exposure, health surveillance typically involves a respiratory questionnaire and lung function testing, with a baseline before exposure starts and regular checks after that. Chest X-rays may be needed depending on exposure levels and history.
The point isn’t paperwork. Silicosis is incurable but entirely preventable, and because damage happens before symptoms appear, surveillance is the only way to catch problems early enough to act. It also gives you evidence that your controls are actually working, which is exactly what an inspector will want to see.
This Reaches Beyond Worktop Fabricators
The inspection campaign is aimed at engineered stone, but silica is everywhere in construction: concrete, bricks, mortar, tiles, paving. Cutting, drilling, grinding and chasing all release RCS. If your teams do any of that work, the same COSHH duties apply, and the HSE’s renewed focus on silica makes this a sensible moment to check your risk assessments and surveillance arrangements are up to date.
Where to Start
If you work with engineered stone, or any silica-containing material, and you’re not sure whether your health surveillance is in place or current, that’s worth resolving before an inspector asks the question for you.
We’re a nurse-led occupational health provider and we’ve been running health surveillance programmes across the south coast since 1995. If you’d like a straightforward conversation about what your team needs, call us on 023 8047 5000 or email support@occupationalhealthltd.co.uk.
