NEPSI Seminar on Stones — Brussels, 12 February 2026

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On 12 February 2026, NEPSI convened approximately 60 participants – including social partners, national authorities, academics, and health and safety experts – in Brussels for a focused seminar on artificial stone and worker health protection. The seminar marks a clear expansion of NEPSI’s scope beyond traditional silica-exposed industries into the engineered stone sector.

The core objective was to build a shared understanding of the specific at-risk activity sectors linked to artificial stone fabrication and installation. Participants exchanged information on national initiatives already underway in several EU member states and discussed how NEPSI can strengthen its framework to improve worker health outcomes in this rapidly growing product category.

Key discussion points included:

• Mapping at-risk activities across the engineered stone lifecycle
• Reviewing national-level regulatory approaches from front-runner member states
• Identifying gaps in current NEPSI guidance for stone processing
• Exploring sector-specific good practice agreements

The Brussels seminar sits alongside the NEPSI Belgium national seminar held in March 2026, which focused more specifically on SME tools and national-level dust prevention practices. Together, these two events show that the EU is systematically engaging with the silica risk in engineered stone – and that importers selling into the European market should expect tighter guidance and, eventually, regulation.

What is becoming increasingly clear from both this Brussels event and the subsequent https://silicafreesurfaces.com/nepsi-belgium-silica-dust-prevention/Belgium national seminar is that NEPSI is moving from general silica awareness into sector-specific action. For stone importers selling into Europe, the question is shifting from whether EU-level guidance will arrive to how soon and how prescriptive that guidance will be. Early preparation is cheaper than reactive compliance.

For stone importers and fabricators with a presence in the European market, the Brussels seminar signals that regulatory attention on artificial stone is intensifying across multiple member states simultaneously.