Image: Silica Dust - Demolition and Excavation via SafeWorkNSW
The NSW Government has established a new Expert Taskforce to oversee and help address silica related health risks for workers in tunnelling projects.
The Taskforce, made up of government, medical, industry and union representatives, will provide expert guidance to prevent and manage silica and other dust related diseases associated with tunnelling projects in NSW.
According to Lung Foundation Australia, an estimated 600,000 Australian workers are currently exposed to silica dust over the course of their employment.
Safe Work Australia defines silica dust or respirable crystalline silica (RCS) as generated in workplace mechanical processes such as crushing, cutting, drilling, grinding, sawing, polishing, quarrying and tunnelling natural stone or man-made products that contain crystalline silica.
It is extremely dangerous to an individual’s health when dust is generated, becomes airborne and then inhaled.
The types of work activities that can generate silica dust include:
- using power tools to cut, grind or polish natural and engineered stone countertops
- paving and surfacing
- mining, quarrying and mineral ore treating processes
- road construction and tunnelling
- construction and demolition
- brick, concrete or stone cutting; especially using dry methods
- angle grinding, jack hammering and chiselling of concrete or masonry
- pottery making
- clean-up activities such as sweeping.
Major tunnelling projects present heightened risks for silica-related lung disease.
The Taskforce will focus on four areas of action: better use of data with more transparent access; improved health monitoring; best practice Work Health and Safety controls; and enhanced compliance.
About the Taskforce
Under the program, project persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure worker access to workplace air monitoring data with SafeWork NSW to make exceedance notification data publicly available and use the data to guide regulatory reform.
SafeWork NSW will reinforce dedicated resources to monitor tunnelling and silica respirable crystalline silica dust results to enable optimal work health and safety.
It will also develop a tunnelling project silica compliance assessment to establish a clear set of criteria on which to assess the safety performance of projects to assist strengthened application of suitable controls to manage risk.
10,000 Australians Predicted to Develop Lung Cancer Due to Silica Dust
In 2022, a Curtin University modelling study predicted that around 10 000 Australians would develop lung cancer in their lifetime due to the exposure to silica dust.
“Up to 103 000 workers will be diagnosed with silicosis as the result of their current exposure to silica dust at work, Curtin School of Population Health lead researcher Dr Renee Carey said at the time.
Since September 2024, the $2.5 million investment has seen a Silica Compliance Team conduct 140 inspections, handing out three fines totalling almost $10,000 for non-compliance.
More than 125 improvement notices have been issued and seven prohibition notices in workplaces.
The NSW government has also pledged $5 million in critical funding for silicosis research and a patient support program for individuals and their families navigating the health risks associated with exposure to silica dust.
The grant funding, administered collaboratively by icare and the Dust Diseases Board, will be provided over three years to the Asbestos and Dust Diseases Research Institute (ADDRI).
In addition, the icare Lung mobile lung clinic, also known as the “Lung Bus” travels to different locations to provide free lung health checks to current and retired workers who have been potentially exposed to hazardous dust, and are risk of developing a workplace dust disease, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis or silicosis.
In 2025, the Lung Bus will travel right around the state, including stops in Taree, Tuncurry, Lake Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Tweed Heads, Wollongong, Shellharbour, Nowra, Bathurst, Dubbo, Griffith, Newcastle and Tamworth.
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