Sandstone and marble dust can cause silicosis, which can kill. Even limestone dust might contribute to occupational asthma, which is the most frequently diagnosed occupational related respiratory disease in Britain today.

Protecting masons from these dusts requires more than a nusiance (sometimes called \'comfort\' or \'hygiene\') masks, warns the Health, Safety, Ethical & Environmental Executive (HSE), which is urging companies to use CE-marked disposable respirators instead.

The warning has been made in support of the Health, Safety, Ethical & Environmental Commission\'s campaign to reduce respiratory diseases like occupational asthma, which the HSE estimates is developed by as many as 3,000 people a year.