Key Points
- Bunnings will stop selling engineered stone benchtops at the end of the year.
- The material has been linked to causing lung damage, known as silicosis, with potentially fatal consequences.
- Safe Work Australia has called for a ban on its use, citing the danger posed to workers using engineered stone.
Hardware giant Bunnings will stop selling a popular kitchen benchtop material linked to the incurable lung disease silicosis.
The retailer said it only stocks a limited range of engineered stone benchtops. Still, the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has hailed it as a win in its fight to have the material banned.
Bunnings director of merchandise Jen Tucker said in a statement on Tuesday that it would cease sales from 31 December.
When the engineered stone is cut, polished, or sawn, dust particles are released into the air and, if inhaled, they can cause lung damage, known as silicosis, with potentially fatal consequences.
In an October report, the danger posed by high levels of silica dust to workers using engineered stone products was unacceptable.
The compliance organisation recommended a complete ban on its use.
"Following the recent Safe Work Australia report and consultation with our suppliers, we've made the decision to withdraw the limited range of engineered stone benchtops we offer, from 31 December 2023," Tucker said.
She said most benchtops sold at Bunnings stores were laminate and timber, and the retailer was "well progressed with sourcing other alternative products".
CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith said Bunnings' announcement marked "the end of the line for engineered stone".
"When even a massive corporation that until now has put profits over workers' lives concedes it's lost any remaining social licence to sell this killer stone, no government can squib it on a ban," Smith said in a statement.
"Bunnings should be congratulated for eventually doing the right thing and pulling these deadly benchtops from their shelves."
While urging other retailers to follow Bunnings' lead, he singled out IKEA.
"IKEA talks a big game on social responsibility yet lines its shelves with bench tops that kill Australians," he said.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said in late October that his state and territory counterparts would work on a unified national response to the report's recommendation.
At budget estimates last week, NSW Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis confirmed the state government would consider banning engineered stone if a national consensus could not be reached.
The states and territories already have regulations in place over the use of engineered stone.
But Safe Work Australia's report found compliance was a persistent problem.
One manufacturer — Caesarstone — has pushed for a 40 per cent silica content threshold on stone products. But Safe Work Australia's report found that there was no evidence that lower-silica engineered stone poses less risk.
The CFMEU says it will prohibit its members from working with engineered stone if a nationwide ban isn't implemented.
SBS News has contacted IKEA for comment.
