The building and construction sector has compared so-called legacy stone benchtops to lead paint and asbestos as tradies risk exposure to silica dust for decades to come.
Australia's world-first ban on engineered stone products has prevented new benchtops from being installed but workers were still allowed to do renovation or demolition work on existing material.
The benchtops are considered safe if left untouched and there is no requirement to remove existing products.
Federation TAFE acting program manager for building and construction, Damien Coats, said safety risks began once people had to work with the material.
"It's not hazardous when it's in place, it's only when it's disturbed when we have that airborne dust that it's going to be an issue," he said.
"It's not something our students deal with directly but certainly I can see down the track as people's kitchens start to age a bit they'll be wanting to renovate, and our students will definitely be coming across those materials."
Engineered stone surged in popularity for its low cost compared with other natural stone products.
The ban has left the building sector scrambling to arrange alternatives on a similar budget.
Master Builders Victoria acting chief executive Tristan Moseley said he recognised the importance of ensuring workers were safe but said disputes would arise between builders and customers who had planned to use engineered stone.
"The builder obviously can't give the engineered stone so we're now at an impasse of what can be agreed," Mr Moseley said.
"We would have hoped that, as part of this ban, the government would have provided a little bit of guidance particularly to consumers about how are we going to handle this."But because it's come in so abruptly, we really haven't had that time to prepare."
State, federal, and territory ministers unanimously agreed to a nationwide ban in December 2023 and it commenced on July 1, 2024.
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