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Story summary
- The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) banned dry cutting of engineered stone and required water-suppression tools.
- Over 50 UK quartz stonemasons, many in their twenties and thirties, have been diagnosed with silicosis.
- HSE research found dry cutting releases respirable crystalline silica dust five to ten times more than wet cutting.
- Employers who breach the ban face up to two years’ imprisonment, unlimited fines, and 1,000 HSE inspections in next year.
