Silicosis

Dr Johanna Feary recently spoke to MPs and peers at the All Party Parliamentary Party Group (APPG) on Occupational Safety & Health on Monday 3 November 2025, about the increasing number of patients in the UK diagnosed with silicosis caused by artificial/engineered stone.

Industry experts at the Westminster meeting including clinicians, politicians, union leaders and legal teams came together to discuss the dangers of artificial/engineered stone. Many are calling for a UK-wide ban on these stones with such high silica content.

Dr Jo Feary discussed occupational asthma and the rising risks of accelerated silicosis from engineered stone at the recent annual conference hosted by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine (FOM) for Occupational Medicine Resident and Portfolio Pathway doctors, titled "Occupational Health Horizons: Empowering Tomorrow’s Practitioners".

The conference was held on 15th January 2026 at the University of Warwick, UK.

Dr Johanna Feary was recently featured on BBC Morning Live at Royal Brompton Hospital to talk about silicosis due to artificial stone, and advises those working with the material to get their lungs checked.

The feature also includes an interview with our patient Ryan, who spoke about how his silicosis diagnosis has affected his life. Nurse Tamanna Kabir was also featured performing spirometry with Ryan.

Unlike natural stone, artificial or engineered stone contains extremely high silica content (up to 95% silica) and when disturbed and inhaled it can cause silicosis, an irreversible occupational lung disease.

The Lungs At Work team and lung transplantation specialists from Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals held an information event for patients and their families on Friday 17th July 2026.

Dr Patrick Howlett was shortlisted for the MRC Max Perutz Science Writing Award 2025 for his article on why his area of research matters, titled "Silicosis and tuberculosis: half the world away".

The annual award has been running for 27 years, and is a science communication competition for current MRC PhD students.

We were delighted to welcome Professor Weihong Chen, a global expert in silicosis to speak at our departmental seminar this week on the "Exposure-response analysis of silica dust exposure and related adverse health effects using Chinese cohort data”. She gave a fabulous talk and showcased the rich datasets that she is involved with. We hope to collaborate with her in the future on research projects.