A father-of-three who was given weeks to live has died after inhaling ‘lethal’ dust from kitchen worktops in his job.
Marek Marzec, 48, originally from Poland, had been working as a stoneworker in the UK since 2012.
Having cut kitchen worktops in ‘appalling working conditions’ throughout his career, he eventually developed silicosis – a long-term lung disease caused by the inhalation of large amounts of crystalline silica dust.
The disease had reached such an advanced stage that he was given just weeks to live at the end of October.
Marek was so ill that he couldn’t risk undergoing a potentially lifesaving operation.
Marek Marzec, 48, died from simply ‘doing their job’ (SWNS)
If it wasn’t for the degrade of his health, the stoneworker was in the process of taking legal action against the companies he used to work for.
His family said he died on at the Whittington Hospital in London on 30 November from ‘Artificial Stone Silicosis’.
“The family and I are all very saddened by the death of Marek,” his sister Monika Woźniak, who lives in Poland, said.
“[He] fought so bravely in the face of his diagnosis, as well as for future victims of this terrible condition, by speaking out to the media about engineered stone and the appalling conditions in which he worked.
“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.
The father-of-three who was given weeks to live has died after inhaling ‘lethal’ dust from kitchen worktops in his job (SWNS)
“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 hospital in October, Marek said he was in ‘terrible pain’ from simply ‘doing my job’.
“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.”
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: Health, UK News, Jobs, Business
A 48-year-old man has revealed that he only has weeks left to live after coming down with a lung disease caused by his job.
Marek Marzec, originally from Poland, has been diagnosed with a long-term lung disease that he contracted, while working his job of cutting kitchen worktops as a stoneworker in the UK since 2012.
The father-of-three has been left angry and distraught at the situation.
He’s currently on his death bed, as he was deemed too ill to go through a potentially lifesaving operation.
As a result, he is taking legal action against his ex-employers.
The stoneworker is now on his deathbed (SWNS)
Marzec has Silicosis, a long-term lung disease that is caused by ‘inhaling large amounts of crystalline silica dust’ over long periods of time, according tothe NHS
Silica can be found in types of stone, rock, sand, and clay, that can give off the harmful dust while being worked with.
The dust has been labeled as ‘lethal’.
Marzec is not the only former stoneworker that has been diagnosed with the disease, as he pushes to change health and safety measures around the job along with others.
Law firm Leigh Day is representing Marzec and other stoneworkers in this case, after the Polish man was diagnosed in April this year, before seeing his health deteriorate rapidly as a result of the disease.
He is currently being treated at Whittington Hospital in North London, with occupational lung disease expert Doctor Jo Feary taking care of the 48-year-old.
Marzec’s condition is at a critical point, as stoneworkers with the disease have found difficulty breathing and severe disability – a lung transplant is the only way to treat Silicosis.
Leigh Day has highlighted that more safety measures are needed to stop the increasing number of cases of silicosis, which has cost the life of one other stone worker, at least.
A law firm is taking action to change the health and safety measures for stoneworkers (SWNS)
Marzec’s solicitor from Leigh Day, Ewan Tant, explained that if nothing changes, we could see more deaths in the next few years.
Tant said: “This is a tragic case, with my client now on end-of-life care as a result of working with engineered stone, in what he alleges were appalling conditions, totally unfit for purpose.
“No one should end up facing the bleakest of outcomes simply as a result of going to work,” he added.
The solicitor said that they are ‘deeply concerned’ over the ‘appalling’ and ‘potentially fatal’ outcomes that could come to reality in the near future if things stay the same.
From hospital, Marzec explained the ‘terrible pain’ he had been left in, emotionally admitting: “I arrived in the UK hoping to build a better life and wanting to make sure that my young daughters were financially secure.
“Instead, because of the work I did cutting quartz worktops, I have been left unable to breathe and in terrible pain,” the father said.
He went on: “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.”
Marzen said that he’s ‘not the only person’ who has been affected, saying it’s time for ‘urgent action’ to put a halt to these ‘dangerous working conditions’ before more stoneworkers die.
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: Health, UK News
A 48-year-old man who was given weeks to live after inhaling dust from kitchen worktops has warned ‘he’s not the only one’.
Mark Marzec came down with a long-term lung disease after working as a stoneworker in the UK since 2012.
The Polish national is now on his death bed after his health being too much at risk to go through a potentially lifesaving operation.
Angry and distraught, it’s believed the dad-of-three contracted the disease from cutting down kitchen worktops and consequently inhaling a certain type of dust.
The man has been diagnosed with Silicosis, which the NHS say is caused by ‘inhaling large amounts of crystalline silica dust’ over long periods of time.
Marzec says his job has left him ‘unable to breathe’. (SWNS)
This ‘lethal’ stuff can be found in types of stone, rock, sand, and clay that give off dust while being worked.
With weeks left to live, Marzec is taking legal action against his former employers.
The man claims he’s ‘not the only person’ who has been affected like this and says it’s time for ‘urgent action’ to put a stop to these ‘dangerous working conditions’ before more stoneworkers die as a result.
Law firm Leigh Day is representing Marzec and other stoneworkers in this case, as they push for change to health and safety measures.
It’s been highlighted that more safety measures are needed to stop the increasing number of cases of Silicosis, which has apparently taken the life of at least one other stone worker.
Marzec’s solicitor, Ewan Tant, explained if nothing changes, we could see more deaths in the coming years.
It’s feared other stoneworkers will lose their lives. (SWNS)
He said: “This is a tragic case, with my client now on end-of-life care as a result of working with engineered stone, in what he alleges were appalling conditions, totally unfit for purpose.
“No one should end up facing the bleakest of outcomes simply as a result of going to work.”
Tant said that they are ‘deeply concerned’ over the ‘appalling’ and ‘potentially fatal’ outcomes that could come to reality soon if things stay the same.
Marzec was diagnosed in April this year, with his health deteriorating rapidly due to the disease and is now at a critical point.
He said from hospital: “I arrived in the UK hoping to build a better life and wanting to make sure that my young daughters were financially secure.
“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.”
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: Health, UK News, NHS
A man from Durham was given two years to live after cold sensations in his fingers turned out to be a rare autoimmune condition
Scott Nell’s unusual symptoms began in November 2017 when his digits became ‘as white as paper’. As the months went on, the dad struggled with his breathing and found that his airwaves started to ‘shut off’ when leaning to one side.
Following a number of tests and hospital visits, he was diagnosed with a type of scleroderma called cutaneous systemic sclerosis.
Scott Nell, 47, needs 250 pills a week to survive (PA Real Life)
What is cutaneous systemic sclerosis?
According tothe NHS, there are two types of systemic sclerosis – limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis and diffuse systemic sclerosis.
The type Scott suffers from suggests that the disease ‘usually only affects skin on the hands, lower arms, feet, lower legs and face, although it can eventually affect the lungs and digestive system too’, in colder temperatures.
In severe cases, it has the potential to be life-threatening and to cause physical disability.
Scott’s diagnosis
Doctors officially diagnosed Scott in March 2018 and he began chemotherapy treatment every month for a year, as the chemicals can soften skin and tissue around internal organs, he said.
While he must take 250 pills a week to survive, his chemo has now been reduced to once every six months.
His tablets includes morphine, to help with pain and breathing and paracetamol, of which he takes around eight tablets a day, followed by antibiotics.
Scott has opened up about his symptoms (PA Real Life)
“I was originally given less than two years to live and I’ve exceeded that already, I still feel like I’ve got plenty left,” Scott, from Houghton-le-Spring, told PA Real Life.
“There was something going on with my fingers and one occasion, I was working and laying a drive and it was snowing but it was so cold, I couldn’t stand it.
“I took my gloves off and my fingers were white, like sheet-of-paper white. I was really quite shocked and I had to go into the car and heat them.”
After a few months, he said he ‘woke up one morning and I could not straighten my arms and legs out, it took me a few minutes.’
“It’s difficult to sleep and I sleep on the sofa, it’s very rare that I actually sleep with my wife, because there I can position myself so I’m not tossing and turning,” Scott added.
“Sclero means hardening and derma means skin – so hardening of the skin. It can produce a lot of calcium deposits, which can sometimes cause scarring and disfigurement.
Scott with his wife, Charlotte, 48 (PA Real Life)
“I think because I was diagnosed really quickly it saved the best part of my appearance – I think actually the tightening of my skin probably took a few years off me.”
He said he ‘pretty much live in a certain amount of pain’, adding: “I’m on tablets to stop me from having diarrhoea, tablets to stop me from being sick, immuno-suppressing tablets.
“It’s a lot. I think some of my tablets are to combat the ill-feeling from other tablets.”
Scott said his wife, daughter from a previous relationship, and step-sons have found his disease difficult to process.
“My line of thought is their suffering, not mine.” he said, adding that he knows he’s ‘going to suffer for a long time and the end’.
He advised those who’ve received a scleroderma diagnosis ‘not to panic’, saying: “If you think you might have scleroderma, don’t back off if a doctor suggests it could be something else.
“Early diagnosis is the key – the sooner you’re on treatment, the longer you have to live, the longer you’ve got with your family.”
For more information, visit the following link: sruk.co.uk.
Featured Image Credit: Family handout/PA Real Life
Topics: Health, UK News
A 17-year-old who is raking in almost £15,000 a month has opened up about how his life has changed thanks to a simple Christmas present from his mum.
Caelan McDonald’s life was about to change forever when he was gifted a £150 Cricut Joy by his mum Karen Newsham, 49, two years ago.
It’s essentially a digital drawing, cutting and printing machine, which is currently on sale through various Black Friday deals.
The Cricut Joy is pretty versatile as it can cut through a variety of materials, including vinyl, fabric, cardstock and adhesive sheets.
Teenager Caelan McDonald is on track to make £100,000 of sales (SWNS)
Small in size, the device is able to make cards, invitations, labels and such.
However, in 2022, Caelan used it to print transfers which he stuck on glassware and acrylic. After he started sharing them on Facebook he got commissions for personalised items.
At the start of the year, he was selling 200 personalised items a month, creating each product at home, working three hours a day after school. He’s now quit school to invest in bigger industrial printers.
Since July, he’s sold a whopping £74,000 worth of products on TikTok shop and other platforms.
The teenager is now a full-on entrepreneur, working 16 hour days, six days a week, and on track to make £100,000 worth of sales by the end of the financial year.
His best line for Christmas is a bauble featuring personalised angel wings.
“It’s 100 percent the best Christmas present I ever got – it’s the gift that keeps on giving,” he said.
“I never imagined it would get to this point.
Caelan’s Mum Karen is very proud of her son (SWNS)
“If you’d have told me last year that this would happen I’d have just laughed.
“It kind of started accidentally.
“In June I thought ‘I’ll just give it a try’, and it’s gone crazy.
“Now I’m so busy I hardly ever stop.
“The last few months have gone so fast it feels like they’ve been about two seconds.
“I just invest everything back into the business, but it’s nice to be able to update my phone or iPad when I want or need to.”
Caelan currently sells 2,500 a month, with individual transfers selling between £1.20 and £3.50, and £100.
He purchased a £4,000 UV printer in January 2024 and has since invested £30,000 in two more printers.
Karen, who works in hospitality, said: “I’m incredibly proud of him, and so glad he’s followed his own journey.
“I worried and wanted him to stay in education, but he was very unhappy and spending hours travelling in the cold when he wanted to be working.
“By June he had a really clear idea of what he wanted to do so we took some advice and I thought it was worth letting him try.
“He’s always been entrepreneurial. He’s great at selling, and listening and responding to his customers, and knowing what’s on trend.
“He’s extremely hard working and he’s certainly taught me a lot.”
Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: Business, UK News
