Engineered stone (quartz countertops)

The slabs known in kitchens as “quartz”, “engineered stone” or “artificial stone” are not cut from nature but made in factories. About 90–93 percent of their weight is crushed quartz and silica; the rest is polyester resin and pigments. The mix is pressed into moulds and hardened to make slabs that look like marble or granite. A finished countertop is not dangerous to the people who use it at home, but the workers who cut, grind and polish these slabs breathe in very large amounts of crystalline silica dust. In recent years severe silicosis has been reported in young workers in many countries, including Türkiye, and in 2024 Australia became the first country to ban these products.

Kitchen and bathroom countertops: This is by far its most common use; it is chosen because it does not stain, is non-porous and comes in many colours. Wall and floor cladding: It is used for wall panels, floors and stairs in shops, hotels and offices. Furniture: It is used for table and cabinet tops.

The pattern is too regular: colour and speckles repeat at the same density across the slab. In natural stone, veins and grains differ from place to place. At the edge and on a cut face, the inside is the same fine, even mix as the surface; in natural granite you can make out large grains of different minerals. Lemon juice or vinegar dulls natural marble, whereas the surface of a quartz countertop is generally not affected by acid. Countertops sold as “natural quartz” or “quartz stone” are not natural stone: they are made by binding crushed quartz with resin. The real stone slab cut from nature is quartzite; despite the similar names they are different materials (quartzite is also very rich in quartz, so it needs the same dust precautions when cut).

On the “street to diamond” value ladder it sits on step 3 of nine: Building and industrial stone. Engineered stone is a factory product, so its value is set not by the stone but by manufacturing quality: the quality of the resin and quartz, the thickness and size of the slab, how convincingly it imitates natural stone, and the workmanship of cutting and fitting. From a health point of view, the key question is its silica content: expert consensus in Europe and North America now recommends reducing it to below 5 percent.

Cutting, grinding and polishing engineered stone slabs releases respirable crystalline silica dust. Breathing it causes silicosis, permanent and progressive scarring of the lungs, and also raises the risk of tuberculosis and some autoimmune diseases. Because engineered stone contains more than 90 percent silica, the risk is much higher than with granite or marble. Workers must use wet cutting, local dust extraction and proper respiratory protection, and specialists stress that even these may fall short under heavy exposure. Cutting, drilling or sanding a countertop at home also creates dust and should be left to professionals. Normal use of a finished countertop in the kitchen produces no dust.