Eight Murraylands schools affected by coloured sand recall
Families, schools and childcare centres around Australia are scrambling to check whether they have any play sand products which may contain asbestos.
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Eight public schools around the Murraylands have so far been caught up in a national recall of play sand which has set parents worrying around Australia.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last week issued a recall notice for colourful sand sold by the brands EC, Creatistics and Kadink at retailers including Office National and Woolworths.
Laboratory testing found asbestos, a hazardous material which can cause serious illness if breathed in, in some samples of the sand.
It was in a naturally occurring form, and the ACCC advised that the risk of anyone inhaling it in that state was low.
Still deputy chair Catriona Lowe advised parents to be cautious just in case.
“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,” she said.
“When doing so, in an abundance of caution, customers should take precautions such as a wearing disposable gloves and a mask.”
Given the nature of the product, schools and childcare centres around the country have been most affected by the recall.
According to the state Department of Education, loose sand has been found and isolated at Callington Primary School.
Sealed containers of sand have been located and secured at:
- Fraser Park Primary School and its Better Behaviour Centre
- Jervois Primary School
- Mannum Community College
- Murray Bridge High School
- Murray Bridge North School
- Murray Bridge Special School
- Tinyeri Children’s Centre
The sand has also been found at schools at Coomandook, Karoonda, Lameroo, Meningie, Pinnaroo and Swan Reach, among more than 450 around South Australia.
The department is using qualified contractors to collect any of the sand and make sure school environments are safe.
None of the Murraylands’ private schools – Unity, St Joseph’s or Tyndale – has publicly indicated whether the sand has been found there.
As well as isolating and safely disposing of any sand they find, parents and educators should contact Educational Advantage about a refund.
The sand should not be put in a bin with ordinary rubbish, but taken directly to the nearest disposal facility, such as the Brinkley Waste and Recycling Facility or Cambrai Landfill.
State Education, Training and Skills Minister Blair Boyer has called for the federal government to hold an inquiry into how the sand had been allowed to be sold in Australia for the past five years.
He described a failure to detect the problem sooner as “completely unacceptable”.
- More information: www.productsafety.gov.au.
