Construction union wants popular benchtop material banned

A construction union is threatening to ban the use of "deadly" building materials and is calling on the federal government to do the same.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) said if the federal government did not ban the use of engineered stone products like Caesarstone by July 2024, it would ban its members from using it.

Engineered stone is a manufactured material that contains high levels of silica crystals.

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When the stone is cut, it can produce dust with those crystals which can cause the deadly lung disease silicosis.

While dry cutting the stone has recently been banned in Queensland, Victoria and NSW, the material itself is still legal.

Engineered stone is commonly used in benchtops and is significantly cheaper than marble.

Curtin University modelling suggests up to 103,000 Aussie workers will be diagnosed with silicosis as a result of exposure to silica dust, the CFMEU claims.

CFMEU ACT Secretary Zach Smith called engineered stone the "asbestos" of this decade.

"Australian workers will keep dying unless we ban engineered stone," he said.

"Engineered stone is the asbestos of the 2020s. That's exactly why we're taking this extremely rare step of flagging a ban on CFMEU members working with this killer stone.

"Australia has one of the world's most voracious cheap benchtop habits and it could claim thousands of lives unless we quit.

"If the Federal Government doesn't ban killer stone, the CFMEU will."

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The union plans to ban the use, importation and manufacturing of engineered stone by July 1, 2024.

A Department of Employment and Workplace Relations spokesperson said the government will work with the union to address health issues that arise from silica dust exposure.

"The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations intends to discuss silicosis at a meeting of work health and safety (WHS) ministers early next year, including discussing calls for stronger WHS protections, increased compliance checks, and calls to ban high-silica content engineered stone," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said there will be amendments to the WHS laws to prohibit the uncontrolled processing of engineered stone.