‘It gets everywhere’: Mum’s fears over potentially asbestos-contaminated sand
Monday, 17 November 2025
A young Hamilton mother has grave concerns for the health of her children after learning the sand her daughter has been playing with could potentially be riddled with asbestos.
And Jessica Jordan’s Frankton home could be one of many around the Waikato potentially requiring a professional clean-up over the coming week if the worst fears about the sand are realised.
A nationwide “product recall” of the popular coloured sand announced last week, affecting products sold at numerous stationery stores, was expanded over the weekend to include similar products sold at Kmart, under the moniker “Magic Sand”.
Independent testing commissioned by the Faculty of Asbestos Management of Australia and New Zealand had found four products sold at Kmart NZ that tested positive for tremolite asbestos.
Jordan now fears her entire home could potentially be contaminated with the carcinogenic substance.
“It’s all through the house. I can’t even use my vacuum cleaner to clean it up because it has sand all through it.”
Jordan had bought the sand after her daughter Hazel spotted the stuff while on a visit to Kmart in August. It had proved a popular plaything.
“Hazel loves it, because she gets deep into her creative process … The Barbie dolls came out and she created a little beach scene.”
Jordan said while she felt uneasy about the substance, “we love Kmart and we love shopping there … but I would not say I trust them implicitly.”
The bonding abilities of the sand were not great, she said.
“It quickly spread out across the dining room table and it spilled onto the floor and has gotten into all kinds of other places.”
She was particularly concerned her one-year-old son Reuben could have ingested some.
“It’s been in the house for months … I have been finding little smidgens of it in the bathroom. It definitely gets everywhere pretty fast.
“It may be fine. We may actually be a fine batch … but the not knowing is certainly causing some significant anxiety right now.”
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) had advised consumers who had bought the Magic Sand products to stop using them immediately, secure them safely, and contact their local councils for advice on where and how to dispose of the contaminated material.
Jordan had received advice that she should get out of her home until it had been professionally cleaned - “But it’s the middle of the weekend. It’s not exactly the best of times.”
She had a friend who suffered from mesothelioma - the rare and aggressive form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure that affects the heart and lungs - “so that’s given me some insight into the lived experience of lifelong effects of asbestos exposure.”
Jordan was not simply sitting around and fretting about the what-ifs of the situation. She swiftly set up a Facebook group where she and others could discuss their experiences and formulate a response to the situation.
“We only have four members so far - but that’s probably not too bad seeing as I only set it up about 20 minutes ago,” she said on Sunday afternoon.
“You do your best to make the right choices for the health of your family and stew over the right thing to do. And then something like this happens that just ruptures any sense of safety.”
While Kmart do not appear to have a New Zealand spokesperson and also have not issued a statement on the situation - aside from their own product recall on Saturday - MBIE product safety spokesman Ian Caplin said the chain had done everything right.
“We appreciate the urgency with which Kmart has acted and issued the recall,” he said in a statement. “It’s great to see the supplier taking quick action around children’s safety issues.”
Since last week’s initial recall, dozens of schools and childcare centres had reported using the asbestos-contaminated sand.
A Waikato asbestos removalist specialist - who asked not to be named - said he was waiting to hear if WorkSafe would be requesting his services on Monday.
“We are just mulling through the process. We are just the removalists. Until the product has tested positive we don’t know how much work we will have in front of us - but it could be quite a few schools and homes.”
Clarification: The recall does not involve sand sold under the brand Kinetic Sand, trademarked by Spin Master Ltd. The company said its products were not subject to recall notices and have undergone rigorous testing to ensure they meet all regulatory standards and are safe for use. (Updated 5pm, November 19, 2025)
Products Identified
EC Rainbow Sand (1.3kg) – previously recalled
Creatistics Coloured Sand (1kg) – previously recalled
Four magic sand products sold at Kmart NZ:
14-piece Sandcastle Building Set (Batch no: 42975724) Blue Magic Sand (Batch no: 42304364) Green Magic Sand (Batch no: 432919650) Pink Magic Sand (Batch no: 42304371)