Ensure that for toys, which contain raw materials extracted from natural minerals, a legal requirement is set for the asbestos content. An appropriate quantitative method should be used for the determination of asbestos content. This is the advice of the Office for Risk Assessment & Research (bureau Risicobeoordeling & onderzoek, BuRO) to the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport.
Other advice to the Minister
BuRO also gives the following advice to the Minister:
Inform parents that in general, the health risk from playing with different types of play sand is negligible. For the children who have been exposed to one or more of the 4 specific products of decorative sand, it is important to make a realistic estimate of the frequency and duration of play with this product and to compare this with the worst-case assumptions of RIVM.
Advice to the NVWA
BuRO also issues an advice to the Inspector General of the NVWA:
Supervise entrepreneurs responsible for the safety of toys extracted from natural minerals, including toy sand.
Reason for the investigation
In November 2025, there was an incident with play sand containing asbestos in Australia and New Zealand. These asbestos fibres can be released during play. This sand was found to originate from China. As a result of this case, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) informed the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) about this issue and together they started an investigation.
The Enforcement Directorate of the NVWA asked BuRO the following question:
‘What are the public health risks of play sand with asbestos?’
Approach
In February 2026 the NVWA took 106 samples of different types of play sand: sand-filled toys, decorative sand, cohesive kinetic sand, semi-cohesive kinetic sand, and sandbox sand. These samples were analysed by and external laboratory (SGS Search) for the type of asbestos fibre and the content of asbestos.
BuRO asked TNO to carry out an assessment of the analytical methods used for suitability for the determination of the asbestos content in play sand. Based on the analytical results, RIVM performed a risk assessment for children.
Answer to the research question
The exposure to asbestos fibres by playing with different types of play sand was calculated by the RIVM on the basis of worst-case assumptions.
This calculated lifetime-average exposure is lower than or around the negligible risk of 3 fibres/m3 for all types of play sand. As children play with different types of play sand and due to the variation in the level of asbestos found, the health risk associated with play sand is therefore negligible.
Play sand with too high asbestos content
For 2 samples sand-filled toys and 4 samples decorative sand, the measured content of asbestos exceeded the legal limit of 0.1 % by weight.
For 2 samples of sand-filled toys the health risk from the release of asbestos fibres is assessed as negligible.
For 4 samples of decorative sand, RIVM has calculated that the lifetime-averaged exposure is above the maximum allowable risk level. This means that for these 4 products there is a health risk. On an individual level it is likely that a child has played less frequently and for shorter periods than the worst-case assumptions made by RIVM. Therefore it is plausible that the estimated lifetime-average exposure remains below the maximum allowable level of risk