Alarming warning over children’s sensory toy – fears it’s contaminated with
Parents are being urged to urgently return a popular children’s toy box over fears it contains asbestos.
Toy brand Kiddo World has issued a recall notice for its sensory toy bin, which includes glow-in-the-dark stones, magnetic sand and construction vehicles.
Officials say children should stop using the product ‘immediately’ because the play sand ‘may be contaminated with a small quantity of asbestos’.
Asbestos, which is known to cause cancer, is a banned substance and safety chiefs say ‘it poses a risk to health even at low levels of exposure’.
In a notice, officials said: ‘We recommend owners stop using the product immediately and keep it out of the reach of children.’
The affected barcode number is 3830086780681.
It has been removed from stores and recalled by the toy company, who say they have contacted any customers believed to be affected.
The UK Office for Product Safety and Standards has issued disposal instructions, however, for anyone who may still have the box.
Toy brand Kiddo World has issued a recall notice for its box of sensory toys, which includes glow-in-the-dark stones, magnetic sand and construction vehicles
They say any sand still in its packaging should be placed in a heavy-duty plastic bag. It should then be double taped securely, labelled, and stored out of children’s reach.
However, if the sand has already been used, officials advise people to wear gloves and a mask and clean any locations that the sand has touched.
The sand, gloves, mask and any cleaning cloths used should then be double-bagged for safety.
Officials say children and other people should be kept away from areas where the sand has been used until it has been cleaned.
Anyone concerned that they own the affected product and has not already been contacted should reach out to Kiddo World.
They can be reached via their email address: info@kiddo-world.com
Asbestos is a heat-resistant mineral that was popular in building and construction until the 1980s until the dangers it posed became clear.
As it was cheap and resistant to fire, it was regularly used as insulation for buildings and electrical wiring.
The first reports about the cancer-causing properties of asbestos first emerged in Germany in the late 1930s.
However, it was not until the 1960s that serious diseases like mesothelioma – a rare cancer that can develop in the lining of the body’s organ – were found to be caused by asbestos exposure.
The danger of asbestos comes from microscopic fibres which can tear off the material and fester in the body to cause cancer.
Breathing in high levels of asbestos has also been linked to causing lung cancer and ovarian cancer.
Asbestos is now banned in the UK, but it is allowed to remain in some buildings where it is in good condition and undisturbed.