A father of two who developed an incurable lung disease after making trendy quartz kitchen worktops has told how he was forced to quit his job to ‘save his life’.
Ryan Fenton, from Ipswich in Suffolk, was employed as a stonemason to make the popular counters in 2016 and recalls how extraction systems at his workplace designed to remove dust were ‘ineffective’.
Dust, he now knows, was slowly destroying his lungs with very breath.
The 49-year-old’s body has been ravaged by silicosis, a terrifying disease that causes internal scarring and inflammation of the lungs — which medics say is irreversible and could kill him.
Mr Fenton, who quit the industry last year, is one of the few public faces of a scandal which has already killed two British stoneworkers, with at least 26 others rendered severely ill.
The youngest case was in a stonemason aged just 24.
However, doctors have warned these known cases are likely just the tip of the iceberg.
Such is the concern, that medics and unions who represent more than 5.5 million workers have called on the Government to stop the manufacturing of quartz in Britain to ‘prevent hundreds of deaths’.
Ryan Fenton, from Ipswich in Suffolk, was employed as a stonemason to make the popular counters in 2016 and recalls how extraction systems at his workplace designed to remove dust were ‘ineffective’
Expensive quartz worktops are made from one of the hardest minerals on earth which, when processed, results in the release of potentially harmful particles of fine dust
Popular quartz worktops are made from 90 per cent ground quartz, and 10 per cent resins and pigments.
When processed into their final worktop form this results in the release of potentially harmful particles of fine silica dust being released into the air.
Cheaper than granite or marble, the worktops have become a staple of kitchen revamps, but workers are paying the price.
Mr Fenton said his job was to use an angle grinder to cut slabs, making room for sinks and hobs to fit the dimensions of customers’ homes and businesses.
But the work was ‘very dusty’ and despite wearing marks — as he was advised by his employer — they did not prevent him breathing in silica dust.
His clothes, hands, face and hair were also often left coated in dust from the work, he claimed.
Mr Fenton had his condition caught early by chance after suffering a transient ischaemic attack — also known as a mini stroke — in December 2022, caused by undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.
When doctors carried out a scan to assess the damage, they spotted unusual scarring on his lungs.
The 49-year-old’s body has been ravaged by silicosis, a terrifying disease that causes internal scarring and inflammation of the lungs — which medics say is irreversible and could kill him
Puzzled by this his medics referred to specialists at Royal Brompton Hospital in west London.
A biopsy showed Mr Fenton — who has two daughters, aged 22 and 20 — had silicosis and he said he was told by medics the condition was related to his work with engineered stone.
Silicosis leaves the lungs at increased risk of infection, reduced their overall effectiveness, and can potentially cause them to fail.
Struggling to breathe can also put a potentially deadly strain on the heart.
Silicosis isn’t a new disease, it has blighted the lives of miners, builders and stonemasons in the UK before.
Britain’s workplace health and safety watchdog the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimate 12 people are killed each year as a consequence of silicosis exposure.
However, HSE says this is likely an underestimate.
Mr Fenton said he was also advised to stop working with the stone in a bid to slow the progression of the disease or quartz could destroy his lungs.
Silicosis leaves the lungs at increased risk of infection, reduced their overall effectiveness, and can potentially cause them to fail
Now, working in adult social care, he claimed he has been forced to take an annual pay cut of around £8,000.
He added: ‘It is a massive blow that, just because my job involved cutting engineered stone worktops, I have had to give up well-paid work that I enjoyed.
‘It is disappointing that I was allowed to work in these conditions with a product known to have the potential to be so dangerous.
‘I am lucky that I was diagnosed early enough to give myself a better chance of avoiding developing a much worse condition, but I am very worried that others out there work in similar conditions and face the same dangers.
‘I want to share my story because action needs to be taken to stop people working with engineered stone in these hazardous conditions.
‘I don’t want other people to have to go through the turmoil of having to give up their job and worrying about what the future holds for them.’
In October 2024, Mr Fenton also instructed solicitor Leigh Day to investigate his case.
Leigh Day partner, Ewan Tant said: ‘It is deeply concerning that as result of the conditions my client alleges he was subjected to whilst working with engineered stone, he has had to take the difficult decision to give up a job he enjoyed.
Mr Marzec, who was originally from Poland, worked for several engineered stone manufacturers in north London and Hertfordshire since 2012. He was diagnosed with silicosis in April 2024
Marek Marzec was left terminally ill at 48 after spending a decade working with quartz worktops at a stone manufacturer. His family have since confirmed his death
‘He now faces an uncertain future because of his condition.
‘No-one should be forced to take such decisions and face such uncertainty simply because they go to work.
‘We remain deeply concerned that, without action being taken to address the dangers of working with engineered stone without adequate protection, more and more people will be placed in Ryan’s situation.’
In December, father-of-three and stonemason Marek Marzec, 48, died after months of receiving end-of-life care for silicosis.
Mr Marzec said the dust he inhaled while cutting trendy quartz kitchen worktops has left him ‘unable to breathe’ and ‘in terrible pain’.
Meanwhile last May, Wessam al Jundi, 28, died in hospital while waiting for a lung transplant in what is believed to be the first confirmed death from quartz worktop-related silicosis.
