A father-of-three who was given weeks to live has died after inhaling ‘lethal’ dust from kitchen worktops in his job.
Marek Marzec, 48, originally from Poland, had been working as a stoneworker in the UK since 2012.
Having cut kitchen worktops in ‘appalling working conditions’ throughout his career, he eventually developed silicosis - a long-term lung disease caused by the inhalation of large amounts of crystalline silica dust.
The disease had reached such an advanced stage that he was given just weeks to live at the end of October.
A lot of trade work has dumb, macho work culture. Current safety standards and PPE requirements have also proven so effective in many cases, the current generation don’t know anyone who has suffered the horrible consequences of ignoring these regulations and assume it’s all overblown, nanny state nonsense as a result.