Nearly 70 schools in Australia have temporarily closed after play sand they used was found to contain asbestos.
Tests of the colourful sand showed it contained tremolite asbestos, a naturally occurring form of the substance, which nevertheless could still be hazardous.
Asbestos is banned because inhaling its fibres can lead to respiratory cancers, and exposure to it is the biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK.
On November 12, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a recall notice of the play sand, which was made by Educational Colours and sold at mainstream stores in the country such as Officeworks.
Over a dozen schools and preschools were closed on Friday, but since then another recall of play sand was issued, this time sold by Kmart and Target.
This sand was found to be even more widely used, so 69 schools will be closed tomorrow while air testing takes place, and any sand is identified and removed.
Australian Capital Territory Education Minister Yvette Berry told the national broadcaster ABC: ‘This means people [have been] walking through classrooms, corridors and store rooms looking for coloured sand, and mapping what they see.’
Specialised asbestos contractors would then be called in to ‘test, remediate and clear the spaces for use again,’ she said, while stressing that the risk was low and air testing had so far been negative.
ACT Education Directorate director-general Jo Wood said: ‘I know this is going to create a lot of disruption because so many in our community are impacted. I ask that everyone be understanding of this as we work through this.’
Some schools in New Zealand have also bee affected, with seven temporarily closing to examine potential contamination, according to public broadcaster RNZ.
ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said: ‘We urge customers who own any of the products to stop using them immediately and place the sand in a heavy-duty plastic bag and double tape it securely and keep it out of reach of children.
‘When doing so, in an abundance of caution, customers should take precautions such as a wearing disposable gloves and a mask.’
The recall warned: ‘The product may cause a risk to health as asbestos has been detected in some samples after laboratory testing.
‘Importantly, respirable asbestos has not been detected in any of the tested samples. The release of respirable asbestos fibres is unlikely to occur in its current state, unless the sand is processed by mechanical means such as crushing or pulverising.’
Last year, a report alleged that hundreds of thousands could die from asbestos exposure in UK schools, due to ‘a cost-cutting culture that wrongly implies “asbestos is safe so long as it is not disturbed”.’
The Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) report predicts mesothelioma deaths will continue to increase to ‘tsunami’ levels from asbestos exposure in the coming years.
At the time, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimated that between 210,000 and 400,000 buildings in the UK contained asbestos from construction before the dangers were realised – many of them schools.
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