A 48-year-old stonemason revealed that he has only weeks to live after developing an incurable lung disease due to his work with kitchen worktops made out of quartz.
Marek Marzec announced that he will be taking legal action against his former employers after being diagnosed with a lung disease called silicosis, which he said was due to inhaling the dust generated as a by-product of cutting the mineral.
Being left with no recourse after his doctors informed him that he was too ill to undergo a lung transplant, Marzec has decided to spend his remaining strength making sure others don’t face the same fate.
“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,” the stonemason said.
A 48-year-old stonemason is suing his employers after contracting an incurable lung disease as a result of working with quartz worktops
Mark Marzec, a father of three, arrived in London from Poland in hopes of granting his daughters a better life.
“I arrived in the UK hoping 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.”
The stonemason reportedly worked for several manufacturing companies in north London and Hertfordshire over the last 10 years, contracting the illness as a result of making quartz worktops for kitchens.
Marzec was diagnosed with silicosis in April, a long-term lung disease caused by the inhalation of large amounts of silica dust over many years. Silica is commonly found in many types of stone, rock, and clay, making it a constant risk for stonemasons and construction workers.
Silicosis is a silent disease that takes 10-20 years to develop and continues to worsen even after stopping silica exposure. In some cases, however, a person can contract silicosis after only a few months of very heavy exposure to the chemical compound.
Marzec hopes that his case will lead to better working conditions for people like him and protect workers from toxic chemicals
Marzec is currently being treated at the Whittington Hospital in London, with his current treatment focused on reducing his discomfort.
“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,” he stated.
The stonemason has partnered with Leigh Day, a legal firm that hopes his case will set a precedent to prevent future silicosis-related cases.
“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,” said Ewan Tant, Mark’s legal advisor.
“No one should end up facing the bleakest of outcomes simply as a result of going to work.”
According to the 2023 edition of the Design Industry Report, demand for monochrome quartz has become as prevalent as granite, being used in 40% of renovation projects in the United States.
The stonemason’s concerns echo those of Johanna Feary, a doctor from the National Heart and Lung Institute of the UK’s Imperial College, who, alongside 15 colleagues, published a report in the British Medical Journal in August calling for quartz worktops to be banned.
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