Asbestos alert forces closure of 69 schools in Australia’s capital territory

Dubai: Sixty-nine schools across the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) will remain closed on Monday after coloured play sand was recalled over potential asbestos contamination, the government announced.

According to a BBC report, the recall was issued on Saturday by retail chains Kmart and Target, after traces of asbestos were detected in some samples of the children’s play sand products.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) described the likelihood of the asbestos becoming airborne or fine enough to inhale as “low”, but authorities are taking precautionary action.

ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry said inspections are underway and could take several days to complete. She added that air testing has so far returned negative results for airborne asbestos at all affected schools.

The development follows partial or full closures of several schools and preschools on Friday after a similar safety alert involving children’s play sand sold by Officeworks.

“Unfortunately, these sand products are even more widely used in our schools than the Officeworks products,” Berry said in a Facebook post.

State Emergency Service volunteers and school staff spent the weekend mapping coloured sand locations inside buildings, while authorities advised that people who have handled the product do not require medical assessment.

Berry stressed that while the risk remains low, the government is obliged to eliminate any potential hazard “as much as reasonably practicable.”

Meanwhile, 23 schools will stay open, as they either have minimal quantities of the recalled product or none at all.

The recalled items include the Active Sandtub 14-piece Sand Castle Building Set and Blue, Green, and Pink Magic Sand varieties.

Asbestos, once commonly used in construction materials, can release microscopic fibres when disturbed, which may lodge in the lungs and cause life-threatening diseases, including cancer, over time. Australia bans the import or export of asbestos and products containing it.