The emergence of engineered stone associated silicosis in Australia is an occupational health disaster with widespread impact on workers and the industry.

The Australian Government committed to provide funding as a research investment into silicosis through the Medical Research Future Fund and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant opportunity – Emerging Priorities and Consumer Driven Research Initiative from 2020-2021.

As part of the recent 2021-2022 Budget announcements, there was a $6 million research investment into silicosis research awarded over 5 grants.

Congratulate Adelaide Exposure Science and Health and Environment Institute’s Professor Dino Pisaniello & Professor Sharyn Gaskin, along with their colleagues from the University of Tasmania, who were the successful recipient of a Silicosis Research grant.

The Silicosis Research grant will support their research to identify the types of engineered stones that are most hazardous to lung health and why the dust generated cause such severe disease. Currently there is no understanding of why this form of silicosis develops, is so severe or why it develops after only a few years of exposure to engineered stone dusts.

Grant Information:

Graeme Zosky, Sharyn Gaskin, Yong Song, Dino Pisaniello, Jack Auty-Rivers. The role of particle size in the pathogenesis of engineered stone-associated accelerated silicosis.

$665,843, 2021-23