Silicosis epidemic draws Federal Government help as stonemason shortage strikes industry

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The Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall of China would not have been built without stonemasons, but finding a tradesman to simply cut a hole in a kitchen benchtop is getting harder in Queensland as the silicosis epidemic takes hold.

A Queensland Government audit of the state's stone industry last year found 98 workers had contracted silicosis, with 15 of those cases considered terminal.

Read more: abc.net.au