‘I’m 48 and dying due to years cutting kitchen worktops’

A worker told he has just weeks to live after developing a lung disease brought on by years of cutting kitchen worktops is taking legal action against his former employers.

Dad-of-three Marek Marzec, who has lung disease silicosis, says he’s furious about the impact the “lethal” dust produced by cutting quartz worktops has had.

The 48-year-old, now on his deathbed – having been too ill to undergo a potentially lifesaving lung transplant – complained of “appalling” work conditions but hopes to prevent others from dying by simply “doing their job”.

Law firm Leigh Day is representing Marzec along with several other former stoneworkers similarly diagnosed with silicosis and demanding “urgent” safety changes.

Marzec, who is originally from Poland, has worked for several engineered stone manufacturers in north London and Hertfordshire since 2012.

He was diagnosed with silicosis in April earlier this year, with his condition sadly having deteriorated rapidly since.

Marzec is currently being treated at Whittington Hospital in north London and is under the care of leading occupational lung disease expert Dr Jo Feary from the Royal Brompton Hospital.

However, his silicosis – a long-term lung disease caused by the inhalation of large amounts of crystalline silica dust – is now at such an advanced stage that Marzec has been given just weeks to live.

A recent study found that stone workers similar to Marzec had developed an acute form of silicosis that causes significant shortness of breath and severe disability, with a lung transplant often being the only way to treat it.

Unfortunately, Marzec was too unwell to undergo such an operation and is now receiving end-of-life care.

Speaking from the hospital, Marzec said he had been left in “terrible pain” and unable to breathe “simply for doing my job”.

“I arrived in the UK hoping to build a better life and wanting to make sure that my young daughters were financially secure,” he said.

“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.”

Leigh Day’s legal team say tougher safety measures are urgently needed to halt the growing number of cases of silicosis linked to cutting engineered stone – which has already claimed the life of at least one other stone worker.

Ewan Tant, Marzec’s solicitor and a partner at Leigh Day, warned that without these measures, further deaths could be seen in the coming years.

“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,” Tant said.

“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.”