TWENTY-FIVE St Finn Barr’s Catholic Primary School pupils were exposed to a ‘‘low level’’ amount of asbestos during Father’s Day science activities, after a parent identified the material they were examining as being suspicious.
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The school informed parents in a letter on Wednesday that year 5 and 6 pupils came into contact while inspecting matter from a Victorian-based Haines Educational mineral kit, which contained Leucolite, also known as chrysotile – a form of asbestos.
A further dozen St Finn Barr’s pupils are thought to have also been exposed since 2013 when the mineral kit was bought and there is a chance other Tasmanian schools could, unknowingly, house a dangerous kit.
Haines Educational manager Victor Cheng said that the company was unaware that St Finn Barr’s had possession of the 2013 kit, which has been recalled in several states.
‘‘We have spoken with the manufacturer where we get the kits from and they have taken out the offending products,’’ Mr Cheng said.
‘‘I will be contacting all the schools in Tasmania, there are only a handful where kits have been sold, to make sure they are returned ... there are a number of suppliers who have supplied very similar kits.
‘‘There’s no need to panic, it’s disappointing as we always try to supply products that are safe and high quality, so we’ll be doing everything we can to get those products out of the schools.’’
Mr Cheng said they still supplied kits but without Leucolite.
Catholic Education in Tasmania director John Mula said St Finn Barr’s pupils were immediately removed from the classroom before the materials were extracted by a registered asbestos removal company.
He said an incident had been lodged with Workplace Tasmania.
The mineral was sent for analysis and verified as containing asbestos on Tuesday.
‘‘The contents of the mineral kit had previously been on static display at the school perhaps once or twice a year since 2013 ... the mineral samples were only for observation during this time and the samples were not handled by students,’’ Mr Mula said.
‘‘The mineral kit does not contain any warnings about the properties of leucolite – or chrysotile as it is otherwise known.
‘‘According to expert analysis, the risk to a small number of students from short-term exposure to an amount of material smaller than a thumbnail, is low and considered very mild.
‘‘The risk to the school community, including students, parents and teachers is also low when compared to a lifetime of exposure to asbestos pervasive in the modern Australian environment.’’
Mr Mula said Catholic Education in Tasmania had informed all Tasmanian schools and colleges and the Department of Education about the discovery.
He said correct procedures were followed and air quality testing had been carried out in the classroom by Injury Prevention Management, which has showed ‘‘the air quality is well within Safe Work Australia’s lowest risk category’’.
