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A total of 70 schools in the Capital Region
Australia
(Australian Capital Territory/ACT), Canberra, is closed today, Monday (17/11) after calls for the recall of sand toys and learning equipment products suspected of being contaminated with asbestos.
ACT Education Minister Yvette Berry said a range of sand products were circulating widely in Canberra schools, more than were tested.
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“This means that, while we should have been able to reopen many schools from Friday, we are now in a position where we will have to close additional schools tomorrow.”Berry was quoted as saying Sunday
Australian ABC
.
Director General of the ACT Education Directorate Jo Wood also said the decision to close schools was an important step.
“We don’t take school closures lightly,” Wood said.He emphasized that local authorities had worked hard to maximize the number of schools that could be opened.
There are 22 public schools that are permitted to reopen and will operate normally today.
On this occasion, Berry said that officers were inspecting the affected schools and this would likely take days.
“We assigned SES (state emergency service) volunteers and school staff to carry out visual inspections,” he said.
That means officers will explore the hallways, classrooms and warehouses to look for colored sand and map what they see.
Canberra authorities will also call in an asbestos contractor to test, repair and clean the space so it can be used again.
The closure of dozens of schools occurred after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a recall notice for a number of colored sand products suspected of containing asbestos.
Asber is a banned substance in Australia because it is a highly carcinogenic mineral.People who inhale the fiber can be at risk of respiratory diseases, asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.
ACCC has carried out laboratory tests and detected traces of asbestos in several sand products such as Sand Castle Building Set, Pink Magic Sand, Blue Magic Sand, Green Magic Sand, and Rainbow sand measuring 1.3 kg in various colors.
The sand is brightly colored and designed for play and educational purposes.
“The product may pose a health risk as asbestos has been detected in some samples following laboratory testing,” the ACCC said in a statement.
(isa/bac)
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