A kitchen benchtop company has been fined $375,000 after admitting exposing a worker to the risk of serious illness caused by airborne respirable crystalline silica over nearly seven years.

The NSW business, Edstein Creative, “failed to take adequate actions” to minimise the risk of exposure when the employee was working on engineered stone products. 

SafeWork NSW took action against the business in 2021, marking the first time an employer was targeted under the state's Work Health and Safety Act 2011 around silica dust exposure.

The regulator prosecuted a further two businesses last year and says it has several others under investigation.

Long-term exposure to silica dust has been strongly linked to dust-related diseases including silicosis. The production of engineered stone products will be banned nationwide from July.

“The upcoming ban on engineered stone is a significant move in the fight against silicosis and will ensure workers across the state are much safer at work,” SafeWork NSW head Trent Curtin said.

“In the meantime, SafeWork Inspectors will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to workers’ lives being endangered through exposure to deadly crystalline silica dust.”