“We would encourage stronger language,we think this issue is an issue of life and death. We are seeing workers die now,” Smith said. “We think action is absolutely imperative,and it’s necessary now.”

The proposal follows a joint investigation byTheSydney Morning Herald,TheAge and60 Minutes that revealedworkers exposed to silica dust were battling the debilitating symptoms of the lung disease silicosis while state-based regulators failed to effectively police workplaces.

The details of any ban,such as prohibiting high-content crystalline silica products,are yet to be decided. If a majority of ministers agree with Burke,Safe Work will be given six months to come up with a solution before drafting suggested new rules by the end of the year.

Federal Labor MPs,unions and health experts are calling for an immediate ban on the engineered stone products,many of which contain up to 95 per cent crystalline silica,which can lead to stonemasons and other tradesmen contractingsilicosis,a deadly,irreversible lung disease.

“That would be a fantastic outcome if they walk out of today’s meeting and say ‘we’re going to ban[it] straight away’,” Smith said.

“It’s not integral to the building process.”

Stone benchtop suppliers and fabricators are calling for tighter national regulations to deal with industry “cowboys” but argue a ban on using engineered stone will affect thousands of businesses and will not deal with contamination from other sources such as natural stone,concrete or cement.

Burke said wet cutting – using water to suppress the silica dust in the product – was used on the factory floor,but it was rarer to see safe practices when the benchtops were being further shaped to fit during home installations.

“If you’re wanting to make sure that we’ve got a situation where we’re not putting workers’ lives at risk,then you do have to consider whether across the whole lifecycle of those products,whether or not they’re safe enough that a regulatory regime will do the job,” he said.

“Certainly,at the moment,the number of Australians with silicosis keeps rising. This is part of the cause. If we could easily regulate it,then you wouldn’t be considering a ban at all.”

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news,views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weeklyInside Politics newsletter here.