Off The Record
After Being Exposed To Harmful Substance On Kitchen Worktops And Given Weeks To Live, A 48-Year-Old Man Passes Away
After breathing in “lethal” dust from kitchen worktops while at work, a father of three who was given only weeks to live passed away.
The 48-year-old Polish stoneworker Marek Marzec had been employed in the UK since 2012.
Throughout his career, he cut kitchen worktops under “appalling working conditions,” which led to the development of silicosis, a chronic lung illness brought on by excessive inhalation of crystalline silica dust.
At the end of October, he was given only a few weeks to live because the sickness had progressed so far.
Marek couldn’t risk having a potentially life-saving operation since he was so sick.
The stoneworker would have been pursuing legal action against the company he had previously worked for if it weren’t for his declining health.
‘Artificial Stone Silicosis’ claimed his life on November 30 at London’s Whittington Hospital, according to his family.
“The family and I are all very saddened by the death of Marek,” his sister Monika Woźniak, who lives in Poland, said.
By speaking out to the public about engineered stone and the horrible working circumstances he endured, [he] heroically battled against his diagnosis and for future sufferers of this dreadful affliction.
“Marek was a beloved father and brother who will be missed by all of us, but we are proud of the legacy he has left by speaking up for the victims of silicosis.”
Ewan Tant, Mr. Marzec’s solicitor and a partner at Leigh Day, added: “Marek was a lovely man and incredibly brave, both in how he stood up to his illness but also in deciding to tell his story to try to help other engineered stone workers who might end up in the same position as him.”
“My thoughts are with his family, in particular his three daughters, who have lost their father in entirely avoidable circumstances.”
“I hope Marek’s death will be a wake-up call to the engineered stone industry and the HSE that urgent action must now be taken to improve workers’ safety and avoid a repeat of this tragedy.”
Speaking from the hospital in October, Marek claimed that just “doing my job” was causing him “severe pain.”
“I arrived in the UK hoping to build a better life and wanting to make sure that my young daughters were financially secure,” he said.
“Instead, because of the work I did cutting quartz worktops, I have been left unable to breathe and in terrible pain.”
“I cannot tell you how angry I am that I was allowed to work in these conditions and that my life has been cut short simply for doing my job.”
“I am not the only person whose life has been put at risk by this lethal dust.”
“It is time for urgent action to stop these dangerous working conditions I had to face before other stone workers contract this terrible disease and die.”
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