VIDEO: Asbestos contamination identified in imported coloured sand products

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM, REPORTER: Asbestos has been largely banned in Australia since 2003 but traces of it have now been detected in children’s play sand.

JENNIE MALLELA:  I'd like to know how much of it was in the schools. I'd like to know how often the children interacted with it. 

DR ANTHONY LINTON, ADDR: It's obviously concerning and it's very understandable that parents will be feeling very nervous at this time.

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: Last week, the ACCC announced a major recall of coloured sand products sold as a children’s toy since 2020.

CATRIONA LOWE, ACCC:  We would expect any suppliers or retailers that have creative sand products in their product lines to be taking a very active approach in examining their products. We would suggest removing such products as a precautionary step from shelves and undertaking appropriate testing. 

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: Kmart, Officeworks and Target have since pulled children’s sand products from shelves and hundreds of schools across the country have reported using the sand in classrooms for sensory learning.

In early November, a New South Wales-based laboratory made the chance discovery that traces of asbestos were in the coloured sand.

CATRIONA LOWE:  So it was not because of a tip off or any concern that the product contained asbestos, it was in fact to test one of their new machines. Of course, having found through that process that the product potentially contained asbestos, they then communicated with the work health safety authorities.

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: Catriona Lowe, Deputy Director at the ACCC, wouldn’t name the laboratory that tested the products. She says all the recalled sand products have been imported from China.

Where in China are all these products from?

CATRIONA LOWE:  We understand that there is a particular quarry in China from which at least some of the sand has been sourced. However, this is an evolving situation as you will appreciate. 

There will be obviously further coordination and further investigation by all of the relevant authorities over the coming days and weeks.

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: Despite the national recall, 7.30 discovered the same-coloured sand products on global Chinese marketplace Temu, which ships to Australia.

The listings describe the sand as ‘non-toxic’ and ‘safe'.

CATRIONA LOWE:  We have contacted a number of online retailers including Temu. 

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:  Their listings are still online. Is it a more difficult process when they're an internationally based marketplace?

CATRIONA LOWE:  In some instances, we understand that whilst products still appear on sites that they are not in fact available for sale. We will be taking very seriously any continued sale of these products in light of the voluntary recall that is underway.

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: After 7.30 contacted Temu about the products, they were removed from its website. 

In a statement, Temu denied selling the ‘the specific-coloured sand product subject to the ACCC recall’ and ‘Temu does not allow products containing asbestos’.

Were these products tested for toxic chemicals?

CATRIONA LOWE:  The products, as we understand it, were not tested at the border. We do not have a regime in Australia that has a proactive safety obligation in terms of the sale of products.

It's a matter for suppliers to determine the risk of the products that they are selling and to engage in appropriate testing.

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: Border Force told 7.30 that since 2015 individuals who import products containing asbestos face fines of up to $222,000 or five years imprisonment while corporations face fines of over a million dollars.

JENNIE MALLELA:  I’m really surprised there could be asbestos in a product that is marketed to children. I think it flags a problem in detection. We should actually be regularly monitoring these products. 

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: More than a thousand schools and early learning centres in every state and territory have reported using the sand as part of the curriculum.

Jennie Mallela’s son Tom attends Kaleen Primary School in Canberra’s north which yesterday closed for cleaning.

JENNIE MALLELA:  The ACT government clearly has some realistic concerns because they've closed a number of schools across the ACT. So as a parent I have to assume that those risks are real. 

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: Tom has been attending Kaleen Primary School since prep. He's now in Year 6. Jennie says she has no idea what her son’s exposure has been with the sand over the years.

JENNIE MALLELA:  If he was using it in his classroom, I would like to know, but I don't think that will particularly help the situation. And as long as they've been open and transparent, I'm happy about that.

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: Today, dozens of schools in South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania were closed so authorised asbestos cleaners could remove the sand from buildings.

In Victoria and WA, no public schools have closed. 

ANTHONY LINTON: Really the most important thing is that these fibres are disposed of safely and appropriately, and in some cases that may involve closure of a whole school. In some cases it may be able to be done very safely just with a building being closed and the professionals coming in.

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM:  Dr Anthony Linton is a research director at the Asbestos and Dust Diseases Research Institute.

ANTHONY LINTON:  The first piece of advice is this is not a cause for panic or alarm. Your children and your families will by and large be very, very safe, a very, very low risk of any disease. That said, it's very important to remove these items from your home. 

JODIE DEAKES, ASSEA: We do not want to see asbestos to go into the general waste and that means identifying and accessing the details of those asbestos, authorised asbestos disposal sites across the country and taking those samples to those sites

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: For parents who still have the sand in their homes, Jodie Deakes from the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says correct disposal of the sand is critical.

JODIE DEAKES:  It's important to isolate it so it's not in contact with anyone else, kids, anyone in the household. 

If it's in its container, it can be put into a double bagged, strong bags and taped up very securely and labelled and put in a secure place. Don't create dust through brushing, use a wet cloth. 

But when you are doing all this, please make sure you are using some protective clothing and equipment such as gloves, eye mask, a mask and coveralls.

ALYSIA THOMAS-SAM: The recalled sand is now being tested for asbestos by suppliers and WorkSafe authorities.

CATRIONA LOWE: There's significant daily contact between a number of agencies to continue to assess the risk, to undertake necessary testing and to ascertain whether there are additional products that should be included in the recall.