The old adage that engineered stone poses a health-threat to both of users and anyone working the material is warmed over
„Our Organization is standing up for your rights“ („Notre association s’engage pour vous“) is the claim on the website Trade Organization’s. Founded in 2018 as the Association of Ecological Marble-producers of France, (Association Des Marbriers Écologiques De France, AMEF), requires members to sell only kitchen countertops originating from France, made of natural materials and which do not emit dangerous fumes once in place.
Trade magazine Pierre Actual had printed a brief report in its November 2018 edition.
The background story: Philippe Ledrans, head of Marbrerie des Yvelines (MDY) of Versailles, and initiator of the new Organization, had samples of various quartz composites analyzed some time ago.
The results were alarming: some samples contained high levels of the toxic material cadmium. Well above the allowed level were zinc and copper.
Producers promptly took their case to the court where Philippe Ledrans was served with a restricting order forbidding him to propagate or publish the findings. But the ruling made no mention of the veracity of the claims.
Stone-Ideas.com solicited counterstatements by the producers in which the claims were refuted (see below).
Now comes the founding of the Trade Organization of Marbriers Ecologiques. In a television clip published on the Organization’s webpage with five founding members, the accusations are reiterated. The claim is that stonemasons working the material are exposed to the dangers of silicosis (also known as miner’s phthisis, grinder’s ast
hma, or potter’s rot) because the engineered stone contains a much higher level of quartz than natural granite.
The AMEF-homepage contains a link to reports in the New York Times and El País on cases of Silicosis in Israel and Spain.
There, too, a link to the television channel RT France can be found. RT France, also known as RT en français is the French-speaking language version of the Russian international news channel RT. The channel is based in Paris and funded by the Russian government according to Wikipedia.
And also a TV-report to another topic is linked: it says that Carrara region is suffering from fine dust pollution due to increasing amounts of marble sold to China.
Re.: the high level of quartz in composite stone, we add: quartzite as a natural stone is 100% quartz. Materials of this type have been on the market for a long time e.g.: Brazilian Azul Bahia.
Association des Marbriers Ecologiques de France, AMEF (French)
(07.01.2019, USA: 07.01.2019)