Dozens of Tasmanians schools close over asbestos sand risk

ABC NEWS (Australia)

More than 50 Tasmanian schools are closed or partially closed today as concerns about asbestos contamination in coloured sand products continue. A number of schools also remain closed in the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia.

Transcript

00:00It certainly has been an unusual day here in Tasmania as some schools have been closed

00:08due to these asbestos-tainted sand products.

00:10These concerns have obviously hit the state.

00:13They've been on the mainland for a little while now.

00:17And so on Monday, Catholic Education Tasmania closed down some schools

00:22after finding these products in its classrooms.

00:26Then, late yesterday, the state government announced it would be auditing all public schools,

00:32eventually coming to the decision that it would be safest to close down or partially close down

00:37some schools while testing continued and cleaning of those sites.

00:42Now, we have around 300 schools here in Tasmania and currently around 50 are either closed or partially closed.

00:51And Madeline, tell us what's happening in other jurisdictions.

00:53So, in the ACT, there are 14 public schools they will reopen after closing due to these issues related to the sand.

01:03In Canberra, 11 are still closed while another 16 are partially closed.

01:08So, also in South Australia, more than 450 public education sites have been reported to have the sand

01:16and two schools are closed.

01:18So, the South Australian Education Minister is also calling for an inquiry to find out how these products

01:24actually came to be imported into Australia.

01:29So, asbestos, which is the big issue here with this, with the sand,

01:34is known to be a highly carcinogenic material with those risks largely related to inhalation,

01:41as Associate Professor Anthony Linton can explain.

01:45Really, the most important thing is that these fibres are disposed of safely and appropriately.

01:51And in some cases, that may involve closure of a whole school.

01:55In some cases, it may be able to be done very safely just with the building being closed and the professionals coming in.

02:00This is not a cause for panic or alarm.

02:04Your children and your families will, by and large, be very, very safe at very, very low risk of any disease.

02:10Still, the concerns still remain high and there are warnings that these schools could remain closed for days

02:18until while further cleaning and testing is done.

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