Engineered stone

If you are a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) that undertakes, or directs workers to carry out, work involving the manufacture, supply, processing, or installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels, and slabs, it is important you understand your responsibilities under the ban.

What is engineered stone?

Engineered stone is defined as an artificial product that:

• contains at least 1% crystalline silica as a weight/weight concentration, and
• is created by combining natural stone materials with other chemical constituents (such as water, resins, or pigments), and
• becomes hardened.

What is included in the ban

Any work involving the manufacture, supply, processing, or installation of engineered stone is banned, when it applies to:

• benchtops for example, those installed in kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoor surfaces
• panels for example, kitchen splashbacks or floor and wall tiles
• slabs for example, larger pieces of engineered stone that might need to be cut to fit a variety of difference installation setting.

What is not included in the ban

The ban does not apply to other silica related materials such as:

• concrete and cement products
• bricks pavers and other similar blocks
• porcelain products*
• ceramic wall and floor tiles
• roof tiles
• grout, mortar, and render
• plasterboard
• engineered stone products with trace levels of crystalline silica (less than 1% by weight)
• sintered stone*.

*Porcelain products and sintered stone are excluded from the prohibition if the product does not contain resin.

Finished engineered stone products (such as jewellery, garden ornaments, sculptures, kitchen sinks) which do not require processing or modification are excluded from the ban.

The prohibition does not apply to natural stone benchtops, panels or slabs. For example, a granite benchtop is not prohibited.

Transition period

In Tasmania, there is a transition period for engineered stone contracts that were entered into before 31 December 2023 and include installation before 31 December 2024.

Working with legacy (already installed) engineered stone

If you are undertaking any removal, repair, minor modification, or disposal of legacy engineered stone that requires processing, you must notify WorkSafe Tasmania. Any work that involves processing of legacy engineered stone must be controlled.

Processing in relation to legacy engineered stone means using a power tool or other mechanical plant (for example a crusher) to crush, cut, grind, trim, sand, abrasive polish or drill the stone.

Examples of work with legacy engineered stone where notification is required include:

• a worker repairs a crack in an engineered stone benchtop installed in a kitchen. To repair the engineered stone, a worker needs to fill the crack with liquid resin and use power tools to level and re-polish the engineered stone.
• a worker creates a hole in a splashback to install a new power point. The worker uses a power drill to create the hole.
• a worker needs to use a power tool to remove a large, engineered stone bench top, so it can be disposed of.

You must notify WorkSafe Tasmania if you intend to carry out permitted work with legacy engineered stone which involves controlled processing.

Find out more about legacy stone and how to notify WorkSafe Tasmania.

More information about the ban

Safe Work Australia has detailed information about the engineered stone ban. It answers questions for businesses that work with engineered stone, about previously installed engineered stone, and about imported engineered stone products.

Read more about the ban at Safe Work Australia.

Read more information about the ban at Australian Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

Resources

Engineered stone ban: Safe Work Australia

Prohibition on the use of engineered stone: Australian Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Managing the risks of respirable crystalline silica from engineered stone in the workplace code of practice

Silicosis crisis: Workers dying making kitchen benchtops: ABC 7:30 program  This video emphasises the risks of working with engineered stone. Caution: This video may contain confronting content, and could be unsuitable for certain audiences. Viewer discretion is recommended.

Construction code of practice

Tasmania’s engineered stone ban now in force: Tasmanian Government