On 11 May 2026, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its first ever COSHH guidance sheet for engineered stone, declaring dry cutting of the material unacceptable and confirming on-tool water suppression as the way businesses meet their legal duty. It is backed by more than 1,000 fabricator inspections across Great Britain through 2026/27, with enforcement for anyone found without adequate controls. The first visits are already underway. This is not new legislation, and that matters: there is no transition period. The duties already exist under COSHH, and the guidance simply sets out the standard inspectors will now hold the industry to.
Why Engineered Stone Silica Dust Is Different
Engineered stone, the material many most modern kitchen and bathroom worktops, can contain up to 95% crystalline silica. HSE's research found that dry fabrication produces exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) five to ten times higher than wet methods using equivalent tools. The consequences are not the slow-burn silicosis of natural stone, which typically takes decades. Recent cases show engineered stone dust causing accelerated silicosis within months or years, with permanent lung damage done before any symptoms appear. The deaths of two young workers prompted this intervention.
Silica Dust Controls for Worktop Fabrication
The guidance is blunt about what fabricators and fitters must have in place:
- Lower silica content - lower-silica engineered stone is available at equivalent quality, so there is no reason to keep buying the high-silica material
- On-tool water suppression - with the mist itself controlled, because the mist carries silica too
- Wet cleaning only - dry sweeping redistributes the dust you just suppressed
- Proper respiratory protection - a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) with an assigned protection factor (APF) of at least 20, with 40 preferred, for processing, cleaning and machinery maintenance. An FFP3 (Filtering Facepiece 3) mask is no longer enough for this material
- Non-dust-retaining coveralls with contract laundering, restricted access to processing areas, training and supervision
- Respiratory health surveillance for exposed workers
If your workshop still dry cuts, or your fitters trim worktops in customers' kitchens with an angle grinder and a dust mask, you are now on the wrong side of published HSE guidance with an inspection programme behind it.
Engineered Stone Risk Assessments Now in alphaZ Documents
We have released a set of engineered stone risk assessments in response. RA-HS156 Engineered Stone Worktop Fabrication and Fitting covers the full workflow: workshop fabrication, on-site fitting including templating to eliminate site cutting, slurry and machinery cleaning, slab handling, noise, vibration and electricity around water. It is joined by two machine-specific companions, RA-HS158 Stone Bridge Saw and RA-HS159 Stone Cropper, and backed by COSHH-97 Engineered Stone Dust, a COSHH assessment for the dust itself covering exposure routes, first aid and health surveillance. We have also refreshed RA-HS97 Ceramic and Stone Tile Fixing, which now separates lower-risk ceramic and porcelain from engineered stone, and RA-HS106 Kitchen, Bathroom and Bedroom Fitting, which gains a dedicated engineered stone worktop row. All are included with an alphaZ subscription.
Engineered Stone and Silica Dust
RA-HS156 Engineered Stone Worktop Fabrication and Fitting
COSHH-97 Engineered Stone Dust
Published: 7 July 2026
