A Queensland manufactured stone installer who exposed employees to dust that can cause a deadly lung disease has been fined $32,500 for breaching Workplace Health and Safety laws.
Silicosis is linked to the inhalation of crystalline silica dust from cutting and grinding artificial stone products.
On Thursday, the Brisbane Magistrates' Court heard a supervisor for Willis Bros Installations Pty Ltd in 2018 instructed workers to cut a bench top onsite using an angle grinder instead of returning it to the workshop where it could be cut with appropriate equipment.
This exposed two workers to silica dust as well as two other people who entered the apartment where the work was being done, the court was told.
No claim was made that there had been any harm caused to the four men.
Lawyers for Willis Bros Installations pleaded guilty to two charges over the incident.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of $500,000 under Workplace Health and Safety laws.
A lawyer for the Workplace Health and Safety prosecutor asked Magistrate Michael Quinn to consider a fine of $40,000 to $60,000 as a deterrent to other operators, but that he consider the company had pleaded guilty, avoiding a long and costly trial.
Lawyer for the firm John Bremhorst said the company had a "comprehensive set of controls in place" and its policy was that there was to be "no cutting on site".
He told the court the company's then-installations director had been the one who had ordered the breach of the company's Safe Work Method Statements.
Mr Bremhorst also said the company had shown "genuine remorse" and invested $1.3 million in upgraded safety equipment at its stone cutting facility.
In sentencing, Magistrate Michael Quinn said he was "extremely satisfied that the defending company is . remorseful."
He said no conviction would be recorded.
"It is highly unlikely that the defendant will breach again in the future," Magistrate Quinn said.
He fined the firm $32,500 for both offences and ordered they pay the prosecutor's costs.