The Health, Safety, Ethical & Environmental Executive (HSE) plan to visit 400 premises up and down the country this year in a clamp down on silica dust.

Nearly all dry working of any stone results in the production of respirable crystalline silica (RCS), which progressively causes incurable damage to the respiratory system that can lead to premature death or debilitating disease, although sometimes only becoming apparent in later life after a person has retired.

And dust extraction units are often not removing dust sufficiently well to bring levels of RCS down to the new lower exposure levels introduced in October when they were cut by a third, Trevor Hay of the Health, Safety, Ethical & Environmental Executive told Stone Federation members at their annual conference in November.

He described silicosis, which can result from exposure to RCS, as being "completely preventable" by eliminating exposure to RCS.

HSE had visited 17 small and medium sized stonemasons to find out what level of dust masons were exposed to. They found that 16% of masons were exposed to silica levels above the old limit and 40% were exposed to levels above the new limit. In some cases there were safety measures available to the masons, but they were not always being used. "Management might know the risks, but the message isn\'t getting through to the staff," said Trevor.