Stonemasons have long term lung damage

William Anelay Limited of York has been fined £30,000 and ordered to pay £6,000 costs after two of its employee stonemasons were found to have long term lung damage from the exposure to silica, which the company had identified as a hazard 14 years earlier.

It was held that the measures implemented by the company between May 1994 and July 2008 to safeguard their employees were inadequate. This resulted in two employees suffering long term lung damage.

An HSE official commented:

"During the investigation, HSE found that a combination of dry stone cutting with no ventilation or use of protective clothing resulted in the workers breathing in hazardous levels of respirable crystalline silica. This was allowed to happen for many years, which has meant that not only do both men have to cope with life-long, serious health issues which will affect them for the rest of their lives, their careers have also been affected."

For more information about safeguarding against the hazards from silica please see the HSE web pages at http://www.hse.gov.uk/quarries/silica.htm

If you would like help with reviewing your work practices please contact Advantage Health and Safety