Marek Marzec, a 48-year-old father of three originally from Poland but living in London, has worked for several engineered stone producers in north London and Hertfordshire since 2012. He was diagnosed with silicosis in April this year. Since then, his condition has rapidly deteriorated and he has been told by doctors he has only weeks to live.
Marzec is being treated at Whittington Hospital in London and is also under the care of occupational lung disease expert Dr Jo Feary from the Royal Brompton Hospital. His silicosis is now at an advanced stage and, having become too unwell to undergo a potentially life-saving lung transplant, he is now receiving end-of-life care.
Marzec is taking legal action against his former employers and is represented by law firm Leigh Day. The firm says that it has a growing number of clients who are stone workers diagnosed with silicosis after manufacturing engineered stone kitchen worktops.
The cutting and grinding processes to produce quartz worktops releases silica dust that can be inhaled if appropriate safety measures are not in place. Sone of Leigh Day’s clients have described working in dust-filled rooms with no windows and no effective extraction equipment or respirators.
Speaking from hospital, Marek Marzec said: “I arrived in the UK hoping to build a better life and wanting to make sure that my young daughters were financially secure. Instead, because of the work I did cutting quartz worktops, I have been left unable to breathe and in terrible pain. I cannot tell you how angry I am that I was allowed to work in these conditions and that my life has been cut short simply for doing my job. I am not the only person whose life has been put at risk by this lethal dust. It is time for urgent action to stop these dangerous working conditions I had to face before other stone workers contract this terrible disease and die.”
His solicitor, Leigh Day partner Ewan Tant, said: “This is a tragic case, with my client now on end-of-life care as a result of working with engineered stone, in what he alleges were appalling conditions, totally unfit for purpose. No-one should end up facing the bleakest of outcomes simply as a result of going to work. We are deeply concerned that, unless something is done to address the dangers of working with engineered stone without proper protection, we may be looking at more cases with similarly appalling – and potentially fatal – outcomes in the near future.”
