A total of 69 schools in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) will be forced to close on Monday after coloured play sand was recalled due to asbestos risk, the government has said.
A recall for the products, which were found to have traces of asbestos in some samples, was issued by Kmart and Target on Saturday.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said there was a “low” risk that the asbestos could become airborne or fine enough for inhalation.
Inspections of the schools are under way and could “take days”, said ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry in a post on Facebook. She added that air testing so far has come back “negative to airborne asbestos” from all schools.
This comes after several schools and preschools in the region were fully or partially closed on Friday, after a warning over asbestos risks in children’s sand sold by Officeworks.
There were also school closures in New Zealand due to fears over sand products, with at least two other schools set to close for testing on Monday according to the New Zealand Herald.
Addressing the new closures, Berry said: “Unfortunately, these sand products are even more widely used in our schools than the Officeworks products.”
A total of 69 schools in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) will be forced to close on Monday after coloured play sand was recalled due to asbestos risk, the government has said.
A recall for the products, which were found to have traces of asbestos in some samples, was issued by Kmart and Target on Saturday.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said there was a “low” risk that the asbestos could become airborne or fine enough for inhalation.
Inspections of the schools are under way and could “take days”, said ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry in a post on Facebook. She added that air testing so far has come back “negative to airborne asbestos” from all schools.
This comes after several schools and preschools in the region were fully or partially closed on Friday, after a warning over asbestos risks in children’s sand sold by Officeworks.
There were also school closures in New Zealand due to fears over sand products, with at least two other schools set to close for testing on Monday according to the New Zealand Herald.
Addressing the new closures, Berry said: “Unfortunately, these sand products are even more widely used in our schools than the Officeworks products.” (BBC News)
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