All state and territory ministers have gathered to discuss new nationwide laws that will help mitigate widespread silica dust exposure among those employed in tunnels, quarrying, and mining.
While the official time to consider whether tougher rules are needed was due to commence in June next year, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke said the decision was made to bring the meeting forward.
“Even when we got to that date, there would still be longer periods of time while you work out all the details and then legislate.”
At the meeting, an unanimous decision was made with all ministers to task Safe Work Australia to scope out what regulations are required for the workplaces exposed to silica dust. It will also scope out what a ban would look like for engineered stone and engineered-stone benchtops.
Master Builders Australia acknowledged the concerning rates of preventable lung disease caused by uncontrolled dust exposure, particularly when working with engineered stone.
“Following the decision to task Safe Work Australia (SWA) to undertake further analysis on a prohibition of the use of engineered stone, we stress the importance for government to undertake extensive consultation to ensure the impacts arising from any future decisions are well known and understood.
“Manufacturers have invested significant funds into developing new, innovative products with low silica content in response to concerns about the high percentage of silica in current engineered stone. Any blanket ban that is not risk proportionate would send the wrong message to businesses that are innovating and investing to continuously improve products and processes to minimise risk.
“As part of consultations over the next six months, we urge the government to prioritise industry-wide testing on its effectiveness in successfully controlling silica related risk. This would address the significant deficiency in contemporary exposure data and allow both industry and governments alike to get an accurate understanding of where silica-related hazards exist and how to best tackle them.”
