Survey reveals silica dust risks for Australia’s tunnel workers
· News-MedicalKey findings from the tunneling workers survey
- 14.2 percent of participants reported having a silica-related disease or condition, most commonly chronic bronchitis, silicosis or rheumatoid arthritis
- Conditions for most work groups (groups of workers performing similar tasks) were judged by experts to exceed workplace exposure limits for silica dust
- Nearly half of survey respondents did not believe regulators were effective in promoting safe practices, with workers reporting the lowest confidence in dust control measures
- Advance notice of inspections is given, with several survey respondents claiming that workplace conditions are being temporarily modified so that projects appear compliant with dust control measures. For example, one respondent said: "They can't see what really happens when they're not there, sites are informed of the visit and make it look good, numbers are botched, readings not true – it's like they come in, tick their boxes and away they go".
Culture and pressure undermining safety
The survey found that workplace culture and project pressures tend to prioritise production over safety, according to surveyed workers who described environments where raising concerns could risk job security, and where dust control measures were sometimes deprioritised to meet tight deadlines.
Kate Cole OAM from the Faculty of Medicine and HealthSome participants reported conditions so dusty they could not see more than a few metres ahead."
While most surveyed workers reported that air monitoring was conducted on their worksites, trust in these results was low. Many raised concerns that monitoring may sometimes be carried out under workplace conditions that are artificially altered to appear better than they typically would be, with these results not consistently shared.
"With Australia's infrastructure pipeline continuing to expand, without systemic change, preventable disease will remain an ongoing risk for thousands of workers," said Cole.
Source:
Journal reference:
Cole, K., et al. (2026). Perceptions of respirable crystalline silica exposure in the Australian tunnelling industry: A survey of stakeholders’ attitudes to occupational health protections. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. DOI: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2026.100323. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020026000129?via%3Dihub