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Original poster

DC played with recalled asbestos sand

65 replies

AsbestosWorriez · 27/01/2026 18:50

Just got an email from Hobbycraft and we purchased a box with the exact product code that has been recalled. The sand is the first thing the kids played with, we made some artwork and it went everywhere.

I have health anxiety at the best of times and am in complete bits. I feel I have failed my children.

If anyone has some more level headed information please let me know, there is really little information given but it says to dispose of with gloves and a mask which is so worrying.

OP posts:
Mummylove2026 · 27/01/2026 20:02

When it is saying crushing, it isn’t suggesting your child squashing it in their hands in a way children play, it’s implying properly crushing with a hammer or machinery. It’s also small quantities of a small amount, very different if it was a beach full of sand. If it was terrifyingly dangerous amounts they would arrange proper collection and disposal.

AppropriateAdult · 27/01/2026 19:55

The risk from asbestos is in inhaling the fibres, and is dose-related, so the risk increases with the frequency of exposure. Almost all cases of asbestosis and mesothelioma (the cancer caused by asbestos) occur in people who worked with it for long durations before the risks were fully understood. I’m a doctor and a mother, and I wouldn’t lose a minute’s sleep over this; it’s a very very low risk. Just throw it out.

NoSoupForU · 27/01/2026 19:51

The amount of asbestos will be miniscule. There's trace amounts of asbestos in the air we breathe. So you're overreacting but I can understand why.

Original poster
AsbestosWorriez · 27/01/2026 19:37

LostTheWill29 · 27/01/2026 19:33

I couldn't find the article but I did find these. There was a recall in Australia last year too

Thank you, that is indeed reassuring. I understand hobbycraft is doing some independent testing so hopefully further down the line there will be more clarity.

I don't even know how Hobbycraft had my email address, I kind of wish they hadn't and I had been none the wiser, since there is nothing I can do about it 😥

OP posts:
Original poster
AsbestosWorriez · 27/01/2026 19:33

I also wonder if the fact I have the matching product code means there was definitely asbestos in ours? Or was the exact same product code used over that 10 year period which may reduce the odds slightly?

I guess noone knows and unfortunately when my anxious brain doesn't know it fills the gaps with worst case scenarios.

OP posts:
LostTheWill29 · 27/01/2026 19:33

I couldn't find the article but I did find these. There was a recall in Australia last year too

DC played with recalled asbestos sand
DC played with recalled asbestos sand
Original poster
AsbestosWorriez · 27/01/2026 19:31

It just all doesn't say very much.

-Bring it back to shop for a refund - sounds so trivial, a refund is the least of my worries if my children are at risk

  • Dispose of it with gloves and a mask sounds in comparison very serious
  • Then it mentions 'small quantities' which sounds a lot compared to 'traces' and with asbestos even a trace is enough to cause damage.

Then some unverified sources saying that unless sand was crushed no fibres would have been released - I really hope so but doesn't seem definite.

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 27/01/2026 19:05

Having a look at the advice on how to dispose of it, it says that you can double bag the box and dispose of it in normal household waste which you normally aren't allowed to do with asbestos so I'm assuming that this is because the risk is so minimal.

https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/giant-box-of-craft-sand-recall.html

HobbyCraft

https://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/giant-box-of-craft-sand-recall.html

LostTheWill29 · 27/01/2026 19:01

I'll try to find it, although might've been a newspaper article I clicked on Facebook. It was from before hobby craft had acknowledged a problem, just talking about the mum who had it tested.

Original poster
AsbestosWorriez · 27/01/2026 18:59

LostTheWill29 · 27/01/2026 18:57

Hey OP, obviously it's not great but it's definitely not your fault, you have not failed them! If it helps, the article I read said children wouldn't come to harm over the amount that was present. Of course you should still get rid but hope it eases some panic for you Flowers

Thank you, if you have a link to the article it would be really helpful. What I see says it would take a decade to cause issues, a decade is nothing at all when DD used it when she was 3 😭

OP posts:
Original poster
AsbestosWorriez · 27/01/2026 18:57

The box has been in our cupboard for months, no sand remaining in it but the whole thing could be contaminated. Kids have been taking it in and out using other bits this whole time. I'm going to wrap up the box in case needed further down the line. I'm shaking.

OP posts:
LostTheWill29 · 27/01/2026 18:57

Hey OP, obviously it's not great but it's definitely not your fault, you have not failed them! If it helps, the article I read said children wouldn't come to harm over the amount that was present. Of course you should still get rid but hope it eases some panic for you Flowers

alexdgr8 · 27/01/2026 18:54

I would contact your local trading standards service.
Don't touch the product.
Cover it with something.
Also ask your local authority waste disposal department for advice on safe disposal.
All the best.

Original poster
AsbestosWorriez · 27/01/2026 18:52

.

OP posts: