Asbestos in Magic Sand Recall: Safety Notice

Already while I’m writing this, I know it’s too late – right across the country, parents, teachers and child care centres woke up to a nightmare scenario – some of the batches of magic sand that we bought for our kids, known as Magic Sand, Kinetic Sand or Coloured Sand, contains chrysotile and tremolite asbestos. Many well-meaning people then followed their first instinct and got out the vacuum cleaners and binned the sand first thing.

Why You Should Not Vacuum Magic Sand Contaminated With Asbestos

1. You need a special HEPA filter vacuum cleaner to vacuum asbestos containing magic sand. If you use a regular vacuum, the filter will not stop asbestos fibres – in fact what you are doing is filtering out some dust and kicking up asbestos fibres into the air
2. You have now contaminated your vacuum cleaner, and it needs to be binned
3. Asbestos waste cannot go into the general waste stream – it needs to be bagged in 200-micron thick plastic bags, marked as asbestos waste and sent to a waste facility that accepts asbestos.
4. And finally, and this is important, the removal of friable asbestos requires a Class A asbestos removal license (for any amount of asbestos).

A National Shortage of Asbestos Removalists

This recall affects households and centres nationwide. There will not be enough licensed Class A asbestos removalists to attend every property immediately. That means many people will be waiting. Because every state will be pressed, we will not be able to move resources across borders to attend to the demand.

How dangerous is it?

Don’t Rely on Poor Advice About Asbestos Safety

There are many people in positions of authority putting out questionable advice on this matter. If you read any advice along the lines ‘just put on a P2 mask, similar to COVID’ – please stop reading that advice, even if it was from an authority. I have worked in the hazardous materials space for 14 years and I can assure you this is not correct. If you were to attempt a clean-up yourself (which is not advised) then you should be wearing at minimum a P3 half silicone face mask as well as a type 5/6 hazardous materials suit.

You should carry out most of your work using wet-wipes and only vacuum if you have access to a vacuum fitted with a HEPA filter and you are prepared to only use the vacuum for asbestos work moving forward (that’s right, its contaminated, now)

Many families are concerned about the safety of their magic sand products.

Dispose of all materials including sand, wet wipes, hazmat suits and the filter from the vac if used

Using the correct PPE is essential when handling any contaminated magic sand.

If you are keeping the vac (not advised) place this in a sealed 200 micron plastic bag marked as asbestos waste and only take this out if you are wearing suitable PPE in an isolated area (which is one of the many reasons the work should not be done by you).

Verify the safety and source of your Magic Sand to prevent any health risks.

But again, this course is not our recommendation – our recommendation is this:

Consult professionals to safely deal with contaminated magic sand.

Recommended Course of Action

If you know your sand product is in the recall:

1. Carry out a low level make safe – if the sand material is in a container, seal the container, tape it up  – place the whole container ideally in an asbestos waste bag (200-micron thick plastic) if you can – or failing that whatever heavy-duty plastic you may have. Ensure the bag is marked in some way as asbestos containing and place in an area where it will not be accessed
2. Do not attempt any other clean-up yourself – instead isolate any affected areas and book in a licensed Class A asbestos removalist as soon as possible – ensure they take the bag you sealed, if you did that
3. Do not occupy the area until you have a Clearance certificate with clearance air monitoring results in hand by an independent consultant.

These are the legal requirements for Class A asbestos removal

If you do not know if your magic sand is in the recall OR you would like to verify – you can still, follow the above as a precaution or we can come and test the sand for you

Be sure to check if the magic sand you have is affected by this recall.

Documentation is Important for Insurance Claims or Legal Action

Ensure all actions regarding magic sand are compliant with safety regulations.

Stay informed about recalls affecting magic sand products across the country.

For insurance purposes or for your own records and potential future legal action you should document the issue by an independent experienced Environmental Consultant.

A Greenlight report will:

1. Document the batch numbers and brands of magic sand present (and wether these marry up with the recall notices)
2. Document the extent of contamination
3. If sand is not of a type that is present in the recall, or cannot be verified we can test the sand to verify if asbestos is present or not

To book an appointment with our consultants please follow the link below. Please have on hand or retain – any information you have about the brand or batch numbers of the material – this would be on the original packaging, it is important this is not thrown away for the purposes of documentation. If you  have any receipts for the materials, please ensure you retain these – we can document these things in our report.

Documentation of the brand and batch of your magic sand is crucial for safety.

Keep yourself updated on any recalls involving Magic Sand to ensure your family’s safety.

Assess the safety of your magic sand to protect your family and children.

If there are questions about your magic sand, contact us for further assistance.