SIXTY-NINE public schools in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) were shut down on as authorities scramble to investigate possible asbestos contamination in decorative play sand used by students.

The alert was triggered by a national recall issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), after laboratory tests found traces of tremolite and chrysotile asbestos in a number of coloured sand products sold at major retailers, including Kmart and Target.

ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry explained that the contaminated sand was widely used in public schools for sensory play and arts-and-crafts activities. Because of the scope of the issue, the government made the call to close nearly 70 schools as a precaution while a full audit and cleanup are underway.

Despite the shutdown, health authorities maintained that the risk of asbestos exposure was low. According to the ACCC, no respirable (airborne) asbestos fibres were detected in the samples tested, and such fibres would only be released if the sand were crushed or mechanically disturbed.

Still, the ACT government enforced rigorous work-health-and-safety rules.

The problem isn’t confined to just schools — officials in South Australia have also reported finding these sand products in over 100 education sites, raising concerns across multiple states.

Meanwhile, the scare has spread beyond Australia. In New Zealand, early education centres and schools have begun removing the same types of coloured sand following similar asbestos concerns.(Victoria Diana, USJR Comm Intern)

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• #Australian schools asbestos
• #ACT school closures
• #Yvette Berry statement
• #Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recall
• #tremolite asbestos
• #chrysotile asbestos
• #school safety Australia
• #sensory play sand contamination
• #arts-and-crafts asbestos ri