Clare Byrne

Let's bring Katie in at this point, Katie Barnfield from Sky News.

And Katie, you went to California to report on the cases that have come before the courts.

You were there at the hearing.

What did you hear from those who were impacted by silicosis?

So what's happening in the UK with regard to quartz?

What is the conversation that's happening?

And Gordon, Katie has said that, and you yourself have said it too, that it takes years for this to present between working with it to experiencing symptoms.

What does that timeline look like?

Are we talking about a decade before you might see any symptoms?

And in Katie's reporting, she reports that this was a disease which affected coal miners back in the 1920s up to the 1950s.

Did it largely disappear for a period of time then?

And we have seen in recent years because of the use of this stone for kitchen worktops that there's been a resurgence.

Okay, and as you say, we could be on the verge perhaps of looking at a total ban in the European Union as well.

Thank you both.

It's fascinating.

Katie Barnfield from Sky News and Dr. Gordon Hare there who joined us from Australia.

The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk.

With Aviva Insurance.

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