CANBERRA: More than 70 schools in the Australian capital of Canberra were ordered to close on Monday due to growing concerns about possible asbestos contamination from decorative sand products.
The government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) said that 71 of 94 public schools in Canberra and surrounding suburbs would be closed on Monday after an audit found widespread use of sand products in which asbestos had been detected.
It comes after 24 ACT schools and preschools were fully or partially closed on Friday, with two reopening on Monday.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Wednesday issued a recall notice over a type of decorative colourful sand after laboratory testing detected chrysotile asbestos.