https://hdl.handle.net/10481/19776 2026-04-10T11:42:05Z https://hdl.handle.net/10481/101388 Australia’s ban of engineered stone: a historic turning point Cavalin, Catherine; Menéndez Navarro, Alfredo The health risks of working with crystalline silica, a mineral ubiquitous in the earth’s crust, were for a long time associated with the mining industry alone. But interdisciplinary work has led to the (re)discovery that thousands of workers in various sectors are developing the lung disease silicosis or other related serious systemic diseases. Australia’s ban of engineered stone, a manufactured composite material with a high concentration of silica, represents a recent success in the fight against these risks. The European Union should be paying attention https://hdl.handle.net/10481/101386 L'interdiction de la pierre artificielle en Australie: un tournant historique Cavalin, Catherine; Menéndez Navarro, Alfredo https://hdl.handle.net/10481/90458 La prohibición de los aglomerados de cuarzo en Australia, una decisión modélica Menéndez Navarro, Alfredo; Cavalin, Catherine Australia se convirtió en diciembre de 2023 en el primer país en prohibir el uso de los aglomerados de cuarzo. El consumo de estos materiales sintéticos, que contienen más del 80% de sílice cristalina y que desde los años 90 se han empleado para la fabricación de encimeras de cocina y baños, ha contribuido al resurgimiento en numerosos países de formas aceleradas de silicosis y a una notable incidencia de enfermedades sistémicas. El objeto de este trabajo es analizar los fundamentos que sustentan la decisión australiana. Dichos fundamentos están principalmente recogidos en el informe elaborado en 2023 por la agencia gubernamental Safe Work Australia (SWA), que recomendó la prohibición del producto. SWA llevó a cabo una consulta pública entre todos los actores sociales y científicos interesados en el problema. El informe de SWA señaló la ausencia de evidencia científica sobre un umbral de sílice toxicológicamente seguro cuestionando la estrategia de los fabricantes del material de presentar como productos seguros a los aglomerados con menos del 40% de contenido de sílice. La recomendación de SWA tomó en consideración la evaluación del nivel de cumplimiento de las estrictas medidas de prevención implementadas entre 2019 y 2023, constatando que el incumplimiento siguió siendo generalizado en el sector. Además se realizó un análisis coste-beneficio para valorar el número de casos de silicosis que sería necesario evitar para “compensar” los costes económicos asociados a cada opción de prohibición. Para ello empleó el Valor Estadístico de la Vida (VEV) actualizado en 2023 en Australia y estimó en 4,9 millones de dólares australianos cada vida salvada y silicosis evitada. En nuestra opinión, la prohibición australiana es modélica por la forma en que se ha gestado la decisión, por su sólida fundamentación científica y socio-laboral, y por la aplicación del principio de precaución.; Australia became the first country to ban the use of engineered stone in December 2023. The use of these synthetic materials, which contain more than 80% crystalline silica and have been used since the 1990s in the manufacture of kitchen and bathroom countertop, has contributed to the resurgence of accelerated forms of silicosis and a significant incidence of systemic disease in many countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the rationale behind the Australian decision. The rationale is mainly contained in the report prepared by the government agency Safe Work Australia (SWA) in 2023, which recommended a ban on the product. The SWA conducted a public consultation with all social and scientific stakeholders interested in the issue. The SWA report noted the lack of scientific evidence for a toxicologically safe silica threshold and questioned the material manufacturers' strategy of presenting agglomerates with less than 40% silica as safe products. The SWA's recommendation took into account the assessment of the level of compliance with the strict prevention measures to be implemented between 2019 and 2023, noting that non-compliance remains widespread in the sector. It also carried out a cost-benefit analysis to assess the number of cases of silicosis that would need to be avoided to "offset" the economic costs associated with each ban option. It used the updated Statistical Value of Life (SVL) in 2023 in Australia and estimated each life saved and case of silicosis avoided at AUD 4.9 million. In our view, the Australian ban is exemplary for the way in which the decision was made, for its sound scientific and socio-occupational rationale, and for its application of the precautionary principle. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/88160 Current global perspectives on silicosis—Convergence of old and newly emergent hazards Hoy, Ryan F.; Jeebhay, Mohamed F.; Cavalin, Catherine; Chen, Weihong; Cohen, Robert A.; Fireman, Elizabeth; Go, Leonard H. T.; León-Jiménez, Antonio; Menéndez-Navarro, Alfredo; Ribeiro, Marcos; Rosental, Paul-André Silicosis not a disease of the past. It is an irreversible, fibrotic lung disease specifically caused by exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust. Over 20,000 incident cases of silicosis were identified in 2017 and millions of workers continue to be exposed to RCS. Identified case numbers are however a substantial underestimation due to deficiencies in reporting systems and occupational respiratory health surveil- lance programmes in many countries. Insecure workers, immigrants and workers in small businesses are at particular risk of more intense RCS exposure. Much of the focus of research and prevention activities has been on the mining sector. Hazardous RCS exposure however occurs in a wide range of occupational setting which receive less attention, in particular the construction industry. Recent outbreaks of silicosis associated with the fabrication of domestic kitchen benchtops from high-silica content artificial stone have been particularly notable because of the young age of affected workers, short duration of RCS exposure and often rapid disease progression. Developments in nanotechnology and hydraulic fracking provide further examples of how rapid changes in technology and industrial processes require governments to maintain constant vigilance to identify and control potential sources of RCS exposure. Despite countries around the world dealing with similar issues related to RCS exposure, there is an absence of sustained global public health response including lack of consensus of an occupational exposure limit that would provide protection to workers. Although there are complex challenges, global elimination of silicosis must remain the goal. https://hdl.handle.net/10481/29100 La protección radiológica en la industria nuclear española durante el franquismo, 1939-1975 Menéndez Navarro, Alfredo; Sánchez-Vázquez, Luis En los debates sobre la controversia nuclear pocas veces se presenta en primera plana la cuestión de la seguridad laboral en las instalaciones radiactivas. Históricamente se ha priorizado la atención a los potenciales daños a la población general frente a la propia seguridad de los trabajadores empleados en instalaciones de riesgo. Con objeto de cubrir parcialmente ese vacío historiográfico, este trabajo pretende llevar a cabo un acercamiento al desarrollo de la protección radiológica laboral en España durante la dictadura del general Franco (1939-1975). Para ello repasaremos el surgimiento de las medidas de protección radiológica en el ámbito internacional y el posterior desarrollo legislativo en el caso español, proceso que fue paralelo al crecimiento del programa nuclear nacional. Para finalizar, exploraremos las principales evidencias del impacto de las radiaciones ionizantes sobre la población laboral española; In debates about nuclear controversy, the issue of occupational safety in radioactive facilities is rarely foregrounded; it has historically been relegated to second place compared to the attention given to potential harm to the general population. Aiming for, al least, partially filling this historiographical gap, this article deals with the development of occupational radiological protection in Spain under the dictatorship of General Franco (1939-1975). It covers the rise of radiological protection measures on an international level and the subsequent development of legislation in the case of Spain, a process that paralleled the growth of the nation’s nuclear program. Finally, it explores the main evidence of the impact of ionizing radiation on Spain’s working population. Este trabajo es una reelaboración del capítulo de la memoria de doctorado de Sánchez Vázquez, 2010, p.189-215, dedicado a la protección radiológica.