Nearly 70 schools in Australia have temporarily closed after play sand they used was found to contain asbestos.
Tests of the colorful sand showed it contained tremolite asbestos, a naturally occurring type of the substance, which nevertheless could still be hazardous.
Asbestos is banned because inhaling its fibres can result in respiratory cancers, and exposure to it’s the largest reason behind work-related deaths within 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 Colors and sold at mainstream stores within the country comparable to Officeworks.
Over a dozen schools and preschools were closed on Friday, but since then one other recall of play sand was issued, this time sold by Kmart and Goal.
This sand was found to be much more widely used, so 69 schools will probably 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 implies people [have been] walking through classrooms, corridors and store rooms searching for colored sand, and mapping what they see.’
Specialised asbestos contractors would then be called in to ‘test, remediate and clear the spaces to be used again,’ she said, while stressing that the danger was low and air testing had to this point been negative.
ACT Education Directorate director-general Jo Wood said: ‘I do know that is going to create a whole lot of disruption because so many in our community are impacted. I ask that everybody be understanding of this as we work through this.’
Some schools in Recent Zealand have also bee affected, with seven temporarily closing to look at potential contamination, in line with 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 kids.
‘When doing so, in an abundance of caution, customers should take precautions comparable to 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 discharge of respirable asbestos fibres is unlikely to occur in its current state, unless the sand is processed by mechanical means comparable to crushing or pulverising.’
Last yr, a report alleged that a whole bunch of hundreds could die from asbestos exposure in UK schools, because of ‘a cost-cutting culture that wrongly implies “asbestos is protected as long as it will not be disturbed”.’
The Joint Union Asbestos Committee (JUAC) report predicts mesothelioma deaths will proceed to extend to ‘tsunami’ levels from asbestos exposure in the approaching years.
On the time, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimated that between 210,000 and 400,000 buildings within the UK contained asbestos from construction before the risks were realised – a lot of them schools.
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