Dozens of toys recalled in the UK after asbestos found in play sand

More than 30 children’s toys have been recalled in the UK after the Guardian revealed that play sand sold by Hobbycraft was contaminated with asbestos. Over the past three months, other children’s products ranging from candle-making kits to stretchy rubber toys have been recalled by retailers including Tesco, Primark, Matalan and M&S after being found to contain the substance. Asbestos can cause cancer in later life if inhaled and the UK prohibits the sale of products containing it in any quantity. It is thought that the affected toys all contain sand from mines in China where asbestos fibres can occur naturally and where labelling rules are less rigorous. In January, the Guardian reported that Hobbycraft had withdrawn its Giant Box of Craft kits from sale after a customer alerted it to asbestos traces in the bottles of coloured sand. The store said UK authorities had not warned of a risk and there was no evidence of harm to customers. After that story, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) issued an advisory note for traders about the most reliable tests, and since then labs have reported a surge in requests from stores and manufacturers. The consumer group Which? said the number of recalls in the last three months pointed to a serious failure in safety checks. …