Amanda Cropp05:00, Apr 30 2021
JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF
Up to half the bench tops made in New Zealand are made from engineered stone, but the health risks from exposure to silica dust are coming home to roost.
The big slab of Carrara marble in Fabio Valle’s Christchurch living room is a monument to his country of birth and the stone masonry job he abandoned to protect his health. In late 2019 a CT scan showed the 33-year-old former ultra-marathon runner had nodules on his lung, and four months ago he became a real estate agent. “It was a shock. I was quite fit, and I never had any issues with my breathing.”