What Happened
Six coloured sand products — sold under the Educational Colours and Creatistics labels and stocked in Kmart stores across Australia and New Zealand — were found to contain asbestos fibres. The products, including 14-piece sandcastle sets and Magic Sand varieties in blue, green, and pink, had been distributed between 2020 and 2025.
When the contamination was confirmed, dozens of New Zealand schools shut temporarily. In Australia’s ACT, over 70 schools closed while assessments were conducted. Hundreds more schools across both countries sought guidance from health and safety regulators. The asbestos types detected were tremolite and chrysotile.
The Risk in Context
The key factor in assessing exposure risk was the form of the sand. Asbestos fibres are hazardous when they become airborne and are inhaled. In intact, wet, or compacted sand, the fibres generally do not become airborne. Dr. Terri-Ann Berry, who consulted on the response, noted that short-term handling of intact sand carries minimal risk — but also stated plainly that “asbestos has no safe level.”
The danger arises when the sand is crushed, pulverised, or disturbed in ways that lift fine particles into the air. In a school setting — with children handling, pouring, and spreading the material — the potential for fibre release cannot be dismissed.
How Professional Removal Works
Once contamination was confirmed, schools could not simply throw the sand in the bin. Licensed asbestos specialists were required to conduct risk assessments, establish controlled removal environments with negative-pressure barriers, use HEPA filtration equipment, and work in full PPE. Decontamination procedures applied to the removal area, the equipment, and the workers before leaving site.
For tradespeople, this episode is a useful reminder of how thoroughly the asbestos removal framework applies even to low-volume, diffuse contamination. A bucket of sand is a very different task from demolishing a fibro wall — but the licensing requirements and work standards remain the same.
The Import Testing Gap
These products were commercially available for five years before contamination was identified. The episode exposes a fundamental gap in how imported products — particularly those intended for children — are tested before reaching consumers. Asbestos testing for craft and play products was not a standard requirement, and routine customs processes did not detect it.
The case has renewed calls for mandatory third-party testing of imported building-adjacent and craft products, particularly those with mineral components sourced from regions where asbestos-containing mineral deposits are common. For the construction and demolition sector, it reinforces that assuming compliance because something is commercially available is not a risk management strategy.
