{"id":168394,"date":"2025-12-04T21:21:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T21:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/168394\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T21:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T21:21:08","slug":"coloured-play-sand-asbestos-scare-grows-as-more-kmart-products-recalled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/168394\/","title":{"rendered":"Coloured play sand asbestos scare grows as more Kmart products recalled"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe release of respirable asbestos fibres is unlikely to occur in its current state, unless the sand is processed by mechanical means such as crushing or pulverising.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a precaution, consumers are still being advised to stop using products with the batch codes 43262052 and 43418039.<\/p>\n

Multiple brands of coloured play sand tested positive for asbestos last month, prompting the closure<\/a> of at least 16 schools and seven early learning services around the motu.<\/p>\n

The latest recall brings the number of products affected by asbestos contamination up to nine, stoking fears amongst parents about their children\u2019s exposure to the poisonous mineral.<\/p>\n

While asbestos does not cause immediate health issues, the Ministry of Health said prolonged exposure can pose long-term risks. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe risk of developing asbestos-related health conditions, such as some types of cancer and lung disease, is linked to the nature and quantity of asbestos and the length of time a person was exposed to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor most people who have these products at home, the quantities will be very small.\u201d<\/p>\n

The full list of recalled sand products is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you have bought a recalled product:<\/p>\n

Stop using the product immediately.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let children touch or play with the sand.<\/p>\n

Place the sand in a sealed container, then double-bag in thick plastic, seal with tape, and clearly label as \u201casbestos-contaminated material\u201d.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t dispose of it in household rubbish or vacuum it up. Contact your local council for advice on where and how to dispose of the contaminated material safely.<\/p>\n

Refer to the clean-up and disposal instructions at this Health NZ webpage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once the product is secure, people should contact their retailer for a refund under the Consumer Guarantees Act.<\/p>\n

For further advice, call the MBIE consumer line 0508 426 678.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe release of respirable asbestos fibres is unlikely to occur in its current state, unless the sand is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[9526,806,3596,1558,138,4749,87488,40176,9978,29540,130,111,139,69,6379,10538,10903,3383,23840,2751,6661,11408,109395,23939],"class_list":["post-168394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-another","tag-as","tag-asbestos","tag-been","tag-business","tag-childrens","tag-coloured","tag-contamination","tag-grows","tag-kmart","tag-more","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-ongoing","tag-play","tag-popular","tag-products","tag-recalled","tag-sand","tag-scare","tag-testing","tag-uncovers","tag-widespread"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}