Lagging behind other countries, the UK government has now released the findings of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting on Occupational Safety and Health held on 3 November 2025. The report focuses on the ongoing and worsening crisis of silicosis in the UK workforce. It brings together expert medical evidence, union testimony, legal insight, and international comparisons to highlight the scale of harm caused by respirable crystalline silica (RCS) and the urgent need for policy intervention.
This is not a new problem, Hazards Magazine has been reporting on it for decades and it is one of the oldest occupational diseases known to humans.
The report identified the following priorities:
- Ban high-silica engineered stone in the UK.
- Reduce UK silica exposure limits in line with global standards.
- Reinstate silicosis under RIDDOR, and create a national register.
- Improve HSE enforcement capacity and dust-control compliance.
- Expand access to health surveillance, including CT scans.
- Launch a national, multilingual education campaign targeting vulnerable and migrant workers.
In order to prevent silicosis from becoming a modern asbestos-like disaster urgent, coordinated action between government, unions, clinicians, legal specialists, and employers is essential.
Find out more
- The report findings: thompsons.law
- Hazards Magazine, several features: hazards.org
- British Safety Council: britsafe.org
- Scottish Hazards: hazards.scot