The ban on engineered stone: how do you know you are getting a silicosis-safe product?

The world has looked on with interest as Australia has become the first country to ban conventional engineered stone, a surface previously used for kitchen benchtops and bathroom vanity tops in many homes. A driving force behind the ban is the health impacts the materials have, with many of the tradespeople cutting, grinding and polishing engineered stone slabs being afflicted with silicosis. 

Naturally occurring quartz material is plentiful and commonly referred to as sand. It’s been the primary raw material for engineered stone. 

“Unfortunately, when cut, tiny microscopic particles of the dust that is made when the material is cut dry are like little bindis and when inhaled scratch and damage bronchi or blood vessels in our lungs, causing irreparable scarring,” says Eco Surfaces’ John Rakic. This lung damage is known as silicosis, and the lethal and prickly airborne dust is known as Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS).

Wanting to provide an eco-friendly, safe and locally made alternative, Eco Surfaces has launched its Legacy range of benchtops.

Already involved in sustainable initiatives and recycling businesses, Eco Surfaces’ founder John Rakic started looking into making benchtops to divert unusable recycled glass fractions from landfills. 

The added benefit: a silicosis-free alternative to engineered stone slabs.  

“In one of our businesses, we had 30,000 tonnes of recycled and double-washed glass ranging from fraction sizes as small as 150 microns to 3-5mm diameter. This all came from yellow and blue bins and kerbside recycling,” says Rakic.

“We just could not get rid of it and could not bear the thought of sending it to landfill so I took on the role to find a market for it. We started selling it into the domestic and commercial pool sand filtration and sandblasting market. Still, the demand was only enough to account for 20 per cent of the volumes we were getting – plus, the pool filtration market was seasonal. The EPA would not let us stockpile materials outside which further complicated our predicament.”

A discussion with Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla and Anirban Ghose from UNSW then established a new idea with the researchers wanting to trial some of the recycled glass to make floor tiles. 

“Fast forward nearly six years and the factory I found in South America which would possibly make these benchtop slabs was found with their products packed up and imported down under. A few million dollars and hundreds of production trials later saw us get a breakthrough and lodge a patent pending for both the production process we came up with and the binder technology we developed,” says Rakic. 

Then Australia’s silicosis ban was discussed and implemented, with it bringing the launch of Eco Surfaces Australia and its new silicosis-safe product.

“Diverting tens of thousands of tonnes of unwanted recycled glass from landfill is awesome, but saving stonemasons from silicosis really feels like you are making a difference in the world; perhaps a legacy that our children and grandchildren can be proud of.”

With a general specification of 3050 x 1550 x 20mm, choose from a range of contemporary colours:

• Snow Gum is a sophisticated grey hue that brings a modern and stylish touch to any environment.
• Paper Bark is the epitome of simplicity and sophistication with light textures and patterns.
• Iron Bark exudes warmth with its texture offering a versatile look that enhances any design style. Eco Surfaces' seamless joins technology ensures a continuous surface ideal for creating an expansive, uninterrupted visual element.
• Grey Gum is perfect for making a bold statement with its refined grey base infused with subtle shimmering accents that catch and reflect light.
• Spotted Ash and Spotted Gum showcase the recycled content used to craft the slabs.

Implemented nationally on July 1st this year, the ban applies to engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs. It’s important to understand the terms of the legislative changes and what the definition of engineered stone is. The following applies: 

• Contains crystalline silica;
• Is created by combining natural stone materials with other chemical constituents such as water, resins or pigments;
• Undergoes a process to become hardened.

“In short, these are man-made slabs, made from naturally occurring sand, binder and pigments hardened to act and try to look like naturally occurring marble and other stone materials,” says Rakic.

“Unfortunately, our constitution is such that our legislative system requires each state and territory to implement its own legislative changes to enforce the ban and this means there are some inconsistencies in timing and the mechanism and funding to ensure correct enforcement.”

Excluded from the ban are engineered stone products with trace levels of crystalline silica (less than 1 per cent by weight). 

“The salient words here are ‘by weight’. This is not 1 per cent RCS in the air after cutting – this is less than 1 per cent of crystalline silica in the making of the slab. One way of achieving this is by using 100 per cent recycled glass free from ceramic materials,” says Rakic. 

While silica sand is a raw material used in the production of glass, the manufacturing process converts the crystalline structure to an amorphous state bonded in the final product, resulting in recycled container glass containing less than 1 per cent crystalline silica. 

“What this means in layperson terms, is at a molecular level, the sharp edges or bindi-like cellular structures become spherical or amorphous. These particles do not scratch the bronchi in our lungs when we breathe them in.”

An eco-friendly, silicosis-free solution, Eco Surfaces’ benchtops are a great choice for your next project.