Overview
- HSE, which issued new guidance Monday, banned dry cutting of engineered stone and set requirements for water suppression, respirators and health surveillance, with 1,000 inspections planned.
- The regulator’s testing found dry cutting drives exposure to respirable crystalline silica five to ten times higher than wet cutting.
- Inspectors have already begun visits and firms that ignore the rules face criminal prosecution, up to two years in prison and unlimited fines.
- Trade unions, doctors and several MPs say the step falls short and urge a full ban on engineered stone and a national screening programme, citing Australia’s 2024 ban as a model.
- A new kitemark-style scheme from the Worktop Fabricators Federation and BOHS will audit factories for wet-cutting controls, with Wren signing up and Howdens understood to be in the first group.