As a company, our ethos has always been so important to how we run our family business.  Recently we read an article in a newspaper about the banning of high silica quartz worktops in Australia due to risks of silicosis, a deadly disease. We began to research the effects of high silica engineered quartz (including this report from the University of California (UCSF). This has led us to look at the risks of silicosis and using this product in the UK. We’ve spoken to our stonemasons and to researchers within the field. Silica is naturally occurring in stone such as granite and marble at between 5-40%, however, in engineered quartz it can be as high as 97%.

Following these discussions we have made the decision that we will be the first company in the UK that we know of to phase out selling high silica engineered stone and will no longer sell this product to new clients. This stone is currently one of the dominate products in the market in the UK. While this product is not currently being considered for a ban in the UK, it will be banned in Australia from July 2024 and other countries are considering similar bans, being labelled the next asbestos. Importantly, there are no risks to clients once this product is installed however the risk come when it is produced and cut by stonemasons. Our stonemasons are confident that they have the strongest health and safety measures in place to protect their team and use water cutting and good ventilation to ensure this is safely done in their factory. However, for us, the risk of this material is not necessary when there are so many beautiful alternatives on the market.

We have created a petition to ban this product in the UK. Sadly the dangers of silica won’t often be found in print because engineered stone manufactorers are big advertisers in magazines and papers. This is bonkers to us as silica has been dubbed the next asbestos and in one study the median lifespan for stonemasons who are impropery cutting high silica quartz was 46 years old.

If you are currently considering worktops with your designer and are looking at a quartz, please speak with them to discuss its silica content and options available. Your designer will go through alternative options include quartz, with low silica content if this is the case. If you currently have this product, please be assured that there are no reported risks with this quartz once installed and our stonemasons are confident this has been cut and installed safely. 

We apologise that this is quite a big change for us in a short period of time for some clients. While we believe we are the first company in the UK to ban the sale of high-silica engineered stone, we hope that more companies follow suit in the coming months. We hope you can understand why we made this decision and can stand behind us in working to keep the industry safe and accountable. 

We thank you for your patience and understanding while we stay true to our ethos by taking action.

Please do be in touch if you have any questions.

With many thanks, 

William and Elly 

Directors and Founders of Herringbone