Educational Colours Rainbow Sand has been recalled. Photo: Supplied / Product Safety NZ
The Ministry of Education has alerted schools and early learning centres to stop using coloured play sand contaminated with asbestos.
It comes after tremolite, a naturally occurring asbestos, was found in rainbow sand sold by two brands, Education Colours and Creatistics.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) published a notice and the company recalled the products.
The Ministry of Education spokesperson Sean Teddy told RNZ he was first made aware of the recall on Friday 7 November.
"At this stage we do not have enough information to quantify how widespread the use of the product is in schools and early learning services," Teddy said.
"Yesterday, we alerted schools and early learning services ... advising them to take a precautionary approach and stop using the products immediately and to notify us if the product is in use at their location."
A bulletin posted online by the ministry told educators not to attempt to remove the sand by themselves.
"If the sand is loose or in use in your facility, please instruct everyone to leave the area, block it off and make sure it is not accessible," the bulletin read.
"Do not vacuum or sweep floors where there is sand, or attempt to clean it up. Contact a licensed professional for safe removal."
Teddy acknowledged parents would be concerned about the recall notice and said the ministry would keep working with MBIE, WorkSafe and Health NZ to learn how widely the sand was used.
MBIE says it took immediate action on hearing of the issue
Though the Ministry of Education was informed on Friday, MBIE product safety spokesperson Ian Caplin told Midday Report he was not notified until the following Monday.
"Obviously there are a lot of government agencies working together on this, and I can absolutely confirm that this has been a fast moving state of affairs and MBIE were first informed late on Monday," Caplin said.
He said MBIE had taken immediate precautionary action after hearing about the issue on Monday.
Caplin said it was too early to speculate on how much asbestos may be present in the sand.
"We're taking a highly precautionary approach and we're continuing with testing in our own area."
He reiterated the Ministry of Education's advice for people to avoid trying to clean any loose sand themselves.
"It's not a question of hoovering it up and chucking it in a waste bin, call an expert."
WorkSafe told RNZ it became aware of the contamination on Thursday and decided to validate its information and confirm the product had been bought and sold in New Zealand before approaching MBIE on Monday.
A spokesperson said the reason why the Ministry of Education became aware of the issue sooner was because a director at the Faculty of Asbestos Management of Australia and New Zealand also happened to be a staff member at the Ministry of Education.
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