'He won't be the last to die': Brother of first stonemason killed by silicosis says THIRTY of his colleagues have been diagnosed with the same deadly lung disease
- The brother of a tradesman who died from silicosis has also been diagnosed
- The rare lung disease is caused by breathing in dust from kitchen benchtops
- Anthony White was diagnosed with the disease in 2017 and died on Saturday
- Brother Shane revealed he was also diagnosed only days before Anthony died
- He said 30 of his friends also contracted the disease and many more will die
The brother of a tradesman who died from a chronic lung disease says many more will meet the same fate as the 'national epidemic' worsens.
Anthony White was the first in Australia to die of silicosis, 16 months after he was diagnosed, and became the face of what doctors fear could be the 'next asbestos'.
Dozens of stonemasons have been found to have the incurable condition caused by breathing in silica dust from while making artificial stone benchtops.
Mr White's brother Shane Parata said himself and 30 of his Gold Coast colleagues have been diagnosed with silicosis since his brother got sick in November 2017.
Anthony White died of silicosis on Saturday night 16 months after he was diagnosed and became the face of what doctors fear could be the 'next asbestos'
Mr White's brother Shane Parata (pictured) said himself and 30 of his close friends had been diagnosed with silicosis since his brother got sick in November 2017
'Anthony dying has everyone really scared, they all think they could be next (to die),' he told Daily Mail Australia.
'Some have mild cases and others are in a bad way but we're all unsure of how bad we will get as there's not enough known about the disease.
'He won't be last to die from this, there will be many more soon.'
Mr Parata said WorkCover was inundated with stonemasons wanting to get tests to see if they had contracted the progressive condition.
'Seeing how he went from working 13-hour days to being in a coma within two weeks has got a lot of people to get checked. He has saved a lot of lives,' he said.
A recent Queensland Government audit of the state's stone industry found 98 workers had contracted silicosis, with 15 of those cases considered terminal.
Mr White (bottom) and Mr Parata (top) worked at the same stone company for 10 years and both developed silicosis
Mr Parata said he was last week diagnosed with silicosis and emphysema, but his case was much milder than his brother's.
However, it made him tired faster, restricted his airflow, and forced him to quit the stone industry, where he worked alongside Mr White, after 15 years.
'I put off getting tested after his brother went to hospital because last thing I wanted to do was tell my mother were both had it,' he said.
'But a couple of weeks ago I was having trouble swimming so I had a CT scan and it showed up. My doctor was really upset when he told me.'
Mr Parata said the family held drinks at a local pub on the weekend, and dozens of other stonemasons showed up to show support to his parents.
Many of them have also been diagnosed with silicosis or were awaiting test results.
'Our parents are really struggling with Anthony's death,' he said.
'Little things like flowers showing up at the door for my mum trigger them. It's just exhausting for them.'
Mr White (pictured) is believed to be the first tradesman to die after experts warned about engineered stone last year, calling it 'the next asbestos.'
Mr White (pictured as a child) was found dead in the early hours of Saturday while playing the pokies at his local pub where shocked staff found him unconscious in the bathroom and were unable to revive him
Mr Parata was frustrated by lax regulation in the industry and what he saw as a lack of will to protect tradies working 60-70 hours weeks to keep up with demand.
'It feels like we don't have anyone at the top fighting for us. The problem is so severe and this product is so dangerous, so why are we using it and why has nothing been done?' he said.
Mr White was found dead in the early hours of Saturday while playing the pokies at his local pub where shocked staff found him unconscious in the bathroom and were unable to revive him.
His brother said he was thankful that his brother didn't die in a hospital bed, and was doing something that made him happy.
Mr White needed a double lung transplant and was put on the waiting list only last week because doctors thought he was in good enough health.
'Everything was starting to go on the up for him, so it was quite sudden that he died,' Mr Parata said.
'He was doing a lot better and we were both pretty confident he'd live long enough to get his transplant.
'Me and my brother always confided in each other. He was always there for me and I was always there for him.'
Silicosis is a progressive and irreversible disease is contracted by breathing in tiny particles of silica dust that settle in the lungs.
The particles are found in engineered stone, a common substitute for marble benchtops which is made of around 90 per cent crystalline silica.
Last September, WorkCover received 22 silicosis claims, six of which involved people who had been diagnosed as terminally ill, the ABC reported.
Engineered stone is becoming more common as a substitute for marble benchtops, but is made of around 90 per cent crystalline silica - a major cause of silicosis (stock image of engineered stone on a kitchen unit)
A dramatic spike was predicted before the end of the year, with senior occupational physician Dr Graeme Edwards, who is assisting the screening process, expecting an additional 300 people to be diagnosed in Queensland alone.
The national emergency has been compared to devastation caused by asbestos at the peak of its impact in Australia in the 1990s.
'We need all stonemasons informed of the grave risk of inhaling this dust, and we need more than just the Queensland government committing to these important legal changes,' Mr White said.
Fellow tradesman Tahir Ozkul, 46, who was left looking like a 'snowman' every day for years while working at a small Melbourne factory, was also diagnosed with accelerated silicosis and has to carry oxygen everywhere.
'I can't do normal activity like walk, I can't go somewhere easily, I have to carry all the time my oxygen. The pain, the short breath is very bad, I feel very uncomfortable,' he told ABC's 7.30.
Many across the country are suffering from the silent killer, with the government in September issuing an urgent warning urging workers to be tested.
Silicosis expert Dr Edwards said 50 per cent of sufferers were going to have progressive massive fibrosis (severe lung scarring).
'It's horrendous, it's alarming,' he said.
Silicosis is a progressive and irreversible disease is contracted by breathing in tiny particles of silica dust that settle in the lungs. Pictured: Mr White in hospital
He said the situation was a public emergency because Australia's system could only accommodate about 200 lung transplants a year.
Dr Edwards said a continuing rise of silicosis would add an extra 130 patients lining up for lung transplants in the next three to five years.
Sixteen silicosis claims have been made by stonemasons in Victoria in the past three financial years, and a total of 23 silicosis claims in NSW, including by stonemasons.
The biggest concern for doctors was the likelihood many workmen were completely unaware they were living with the disease, according to Melbourne-based respiratory physician Dr Ryan Hoy.
'I've seen more and more patients, about eight patients in the last 12 months. This is the largest occupational lung crisis we've seen since the peak of asbestos use in the 1960s and the 1970s,' Dr Hoy said.
