More sand products have been added to the list of recalled items due to asbestos contamination fears.
Four more products sold at Kmart and Target have now been recalled by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
These include the Active Sandtub 14 piece Sand Castle Building Set, Blue Magic Sand, Green Magic Sand and Pink Magic sand.
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Asbestos has been detected in some samples of the products after laboratory testing, the ACCC said.
Respirable asbestos has not been detected in any of the tested samples.
“The risk that any asbestos found is likely to be airborne or fine enough for inhalation is low,” the consumer watchdog said.
More than 20 schools and preschools were shut or partially shut in the ACT on Friday and one Brisbane school closed for the day after the ACCC’s initial warning last week.
Tremolite asbestos, which is naturally occurring, was detected in coloured sand products labelled as Kadink Sand, Educational Colours — Rainbow Sand and Creatistics — Coloured Sand.
The affected products, used for crafts and sensory play, were sold at Officeworks, Educating Kids, Modern Teaching Aids and Zart Art stores across Australia between 2020 and 2025.
Health risks to children remain low after initial air tests at eight ACT schools came back negative for asbestos but results of other forms of testing are not yet known, the territory’s WorkSafe commissioner Jacqueline Agius said on Friday.
Safety alerts have been issued in nearly every state and territory urging schools, consumers and service providers to stop using the sand products.
“While the risk is low, our priority is the health and safety of Queenslanders, and we want to take every possible precaution,” Queensland’s chief health officer Dr Catherine McDougall said.
“We are working in collaboration with state and national agencies responsible for the safe management of asbestos to address this issue.
“If you have any of the identified products at home, stop the use of these products, contain them and place them in double heavy-duty plastic bags and secure the bags’ opening using tape.
“Keep this product out of reach of children and store it safely until it can be disposed of appropriately.
Officeworks said the safety risk was “negligible” after commissioning an independent health and safety risk assessment, but it recalled products as a precaution.
