Following news that California is seriously considering an outright ban on high-silica stone products, the Worktop Fabricators Federation (WFF) has responded that a similar ban in the UK would only risk “simply moving the problem elsewhere rather than addressing its root causes”.
Californian health officials’ new draft rule would completely prohibit fabrication of surfaces with a silica content higher than 1%. Although the new regulations don’t have an official implementation date yet, health officials are only accepting comments on the proposals until tomorrow.
The news naturally raises questions about whether a similar blanket ban could be on the way for the UK market, especially considering California’s proposed rule would follow Australia’s national ban on engineered stone surfaces in 2024.
However, the Worktop Fabricators Federation has today said that while any action to reduce silica exposure is “clearly beneficial”, it believes the UK industry’s strategy should instead be “to place a much stronger focus on reputable fabricators and the standards they operate to”.
In an exclusive statement to kbbreview, the WFF said: “A blanket ban risks simply moving the problem elsewhere rather than addressing its root causes. The focus should be on robust product information, responsible supply chains and proper workplace controls that genuinely protect workers.”
The WFF added that it believes worker safety requires complete and transparent product safety information, adding “a marketing claim that a product contains ‘lower’ or ‘no’ silica does not, on its own, address the wider safety issue.”
The statement continued: “Fabrication businesses must have the appropriate infrastructure, controls and expertise in place to protect their workers. That means the supply chain also has a responsibility to ensure that only appropriately equipped and qualified businesses are handling and fabricating these materials.”
The WFF has long held the view that a complete Australia-style ban on engineered stone products was not the way forward for the UK market. Instead, the organisation has argued that the industry should focus on safer fabrication techniques and conditions, regardless of a material’s silica content.
The organisation has also been instrumental in pushing for increased health and safety regulations for fabricators dealing with engineered stone. In January, it launched a new industry quality mark to help identify surfaces that have been produced safely. Similarly, the WFF worked with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to develop new regulations that ban the dry cutting of engineered stone in the UK, in a bid to help prevent more deaths from silicosis. Those regulations came into effect in May.
In related news, the WFF’s communications officer, Clare Howcutt-Kelly, has penned an opinion page for the upcoming October 2026 issue of kbbreview Magazine, imploring retailers to put pressure on fabricators to prove that they are truly protecting their employees from silica dust.