State insurer icare has opened a dust disease clinic for NSW workers exposed to hazardous airborne material.

Workers can be X-rayed and undergo full lung function tests and medical examinations with a specialist.

Combining the three services in one location reduces the wait for diagnoses by more than 80%, icare says.

Workers can have claims determined within 10-30 days, compared with 30-180 days through external providers. The facility is at icare’s new Pitt Street premises in Sydney.

The Council of Australian Governments recently discussed the rising risk of lung disease in stonemasons, with dry-cutting of crushed silica causing silicosis among workers making stone bench-tops. Some 23 silicosis claims have been made by stonemasons in NSW in the past three financial years, according to reports.