'Incredibly disheartening': Airborne asbestos found in children's play sand

Study in Auckland finds airborne asbestos in world-first testing on some recalled children's play sand

Ministry of Health reconvenes advisory group to rapidly assess findings

Its chief medical officer says the study results may be concerning for the public, parents and caregivers but its current advice is right

MBIE says it is taking the findings very seriously and that it understands the findings will be concerning

It is now working to update advice to the government and is contacting businesses urging them to reflect the findings in recall notices

Commerce Commission confirms it has opened an investigation into what consumers were told

Airborne asbestos has been found in New Zealand testing on children's play sand, in results researchers say they did not want to see.

It has been found in several samples that were painstakingly tested earlier this year in the first research of its kind.

"Unfortunately, we found that asbestos fibres could be detected," AUT Associate Professor Terri-Ann Berry said.

Her team's findings have spurred the Ministry of Health to reconvene its Technical Advisory Group to quickly assess the results.

MBIE is also now working to update its advice to the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister, as well as contacting businesses that sold the children's sand.

Both ministries say they understand the new results may be worrying for parents and caregivers.

RNZ met with Berry and her research team in March as they carried out the research in suburban Auckland.

In results being made public on Thursday, the small team has made what could be big findings.

"We really hoped that our suspicion that those fibres could get in the air would be wrong and we would be able to come back and say 'hey, there were no fibres, it's great, everybody take a sigh of relief'," Berry told RNZ ahead of the public release.

"And it just unfortunately didn't work out that way and we did find the fibres," she said.

"It was incredibly disheartening to be honest, but at least we know now."

Since first inviting RNZ to report on the research, Berry has been ever-conscious of the anxiety felt by children, parents and others who have handled the play sand.

"There's an awful lot of panic and worry and concern and that really worries me," she said.

"Look, there's no safe level of exposure to asbestos - on the positive side, being exposed does not mean that you're necessarily going to develop an asbestos-related illness.

"It doesn't quite work like that, but of course, finding no fibres is a much nicer place to be," Berry said.

She said she understood the results will be confronting for many parents.

"We've gone from something that was just a potential to something that's now realised in that we know those fibres can get into the air from play."

What has been found, and how

Two labs in two countries the samples were sent to have found the same thing, that tremolite and chrysotile asbestos fibres were in the air during mock play activities.

They used a licensed asbestos removalist working in a sealed chamber in head-to-toe protective gear to simulate children's play activities.

It included writing and drawing in the sand, driving toys through it, scooping it up and tipping it out and making sand castles.

Several air pump collection points at varying heights monitored the air and the samples were sent overseas for electron microscopy analysis.

"It is probably one of the hardest experiments I've had to set up because it was so very complicated," Berry said.

"And so we don't have every single play scenario covered and we have to make that clear."

The fibres were found in some, but not every sample.

They were also only found in "craft sands", the play sand that behaves like sand at the beach, for which 90 percent came back positive.

Fibres were not found in "moulding sand" that clumps together and holds its shape, but Berry said that was not a guarantee moulding sands did not also release asbestos into the air.

The research team said the detection limit in their testing was high, meaning samples where no asbestos was found shouldn't be thought of as safe without more tests.

Brands will not be named

It is important to note that Berry and her team's findings are new and have not yet been peer reviewed.

But she felt it was crucial to alert the public to what they now know, and she was confident with the way the tests were carried out.

"Because this is high importance to public health we wanted to make sure that we were being really clear and making sure that information was going straight to the people that can make decisions and make changes," she said.

The research will be pre-published so it can be visible, before being peer reviewed and published in a journal.

"And I believe that what we did was actually a really robust study."

Various brands were caught up in mass recalls when the contamination scare first surfaced.

The research team tested 15 samples from three brands, but they won't be publicly naming those.

"I think we can't categorically say that the ones that we tested were the only ones that can produce fibres, we don't know, so it's best not to name them," Berry said.

"It would have been great to have looked at more samples, it would have been great to have collected more data but I think we only went into this with one question, and that was can the fibres become airborne."

Berry is unable to give medical advice in the wake of the findings.

But Professor David McBride from Otago University said it was the amount of cumulative exposure that was key.

"It is of concern and it shouldn't have happened, my goodness it shouldn't have happened, but hopefully there will be no adverse effects," he said.

"It is generally a cumulative thing and my thoughts were a play [with sand] there and then shouldn't pose any great risk, but I can't say there's no risk, and that's the problem."

The Ministry of Health has also reiterated any health conditions linked to asbestos are not immediate, and develop over a long period.

Advice at the time

Among advice given out during the recalls was that the release of airborne fibres was considered unlikely unless the sand was mechanically crushed or pulverised.

"That's not what we saw when we did our experiments," Berry said.

"I think in the near future it will be good to have an opportunity to have a line for people to call and ask for help, or just talk about the situation," she said.

"I think that would be a good start so that parents and individuals can reach out."

The findings have been given to government agencies in both New Zealand and Australia.

Berry said she was proud of the research and its quality.

"But I'm also not proud of the result that's come from the end of it, because we were really hoping that we could actually say to parents 'hey, it's fine, don't worry about it, there were no fibres in the air," she said.

"That would have been our ultimate goal. That's just not the way it worked out."

Agencies respond

Ministry of Health chief medical officer Dr Joe Bourne said the results confirm the recalled products can release asbestos fibres into the air.

Scientists, doctors and environmental health experts on its Technical Advisory Group have again met to gauge if the findings change their understanding of the health risks.

"Since these sand products containing asbestos were identified in November last year, health authorities have been taking a precautionary approach and assuming all identified products can release fibres into the air. The study confirms that assumption and supports our approach to date," Dr Bourne said.

He said the advisory group has again confirmed from the findings that asbestos in the play sand products are a potential health risk, and that current advice for households is appropriate.

MBIE product safety spokesperson Ian Caplin said that ministry acknowledged the new findings.

"We want to assure New Zealand families we take these findings very seriously and are committed to ensuring New Zealanders have access to clear information and evidence-based advice as more information becomes available," he said.

He said it was working to make sure the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs had up-to-date advice.

"Additionally, we are directly contacting all businesses who have issued recall notices relating to these products to encourage that the findings of this research are reflected in their notices," Caplin said.

"We can confirm that every product that has had a validated positive result identifying a specific product... has already been investigated and voluntarily recalled by the relevant business."

A WorkSafe spokesperson also acknowledged the findings may be concerning for workplaces and workers.

"WorkSafe has completed an initial assessment of the study's findings and based on the information available our advice for workplaces remains unchanged," they said.

WorkSafe said the findings reinforced the importance of a precautionary approach.

Separately, the Commerce Commission has recently opened its own investigation about "representations made to consumers in the market".

These include what was said about the potential level of risk from the sand products, and what those who bought it were told about remedies.

"It is important to note that the opening of an investigation is not an indication of any wrongdoing," the Commission said.

It would not provide any further information while the investigation is ongoing, and the parties involved are being withheld.

The Ministry of Health said people with concerns over the play sand can contact Healthline on 0800 611 116.

Terri-Ann Berry said the research was in memory of the late Leonie Metcalfe, a mesothelioma patient who was a strong supporter of the work before she died.

Berry said the Mesothelioma Support and Asbestos Awareness Trust, which she chairs, could also respond to email queries.

The research was partly funded by AUT, WorkSafe, MBIE, the Faculty of Asbestos Management Australia and New Zealand, and Australia's Asbestos and Silica Safety Eradication Agency.