Belgium’s Consumer Protection Minister Rob Beenders has urged the public to stop buying Chinese-made products after discovering play sand containing asbestos is being sold online.
A list of affected play sands was published on Monday evening by the Federal Public Service (FPS) Economy, highlighting items sold on Amazon that manufacturers admitted contained asbestos.
The FPS Economy is continuing its investigation into other products and expects to conclude within two weeks. In the meantime, the blacklist will be updated, Beenders confirmed.
The minister explained that asbestos naturally present in sand during mining processes is no less dangerous than asbestos added through chemical procedures. In China, products can contain up to 5% asbestos and still be labelled “asbestos-free”.
When questioned about how such products enter Belgium, Beenders criticised the lack of checks. He was quoted by HLN saying, "But if you see how many people buy that Chinese junk, how many packages arrive, it's impossible to check them one by one. Therefore, my most important appeal, to protect public health, is: don't buy that Chinese junk."
