Last year, I went to a garden store to pick up a few bags of sand. At a garage sale I had found a sandbox, and I was intent on filling it up and letting my toddler dig, pile and create to her heart's content.
I got it home, then noticed a label on the bottom of the bag, that read the now famous line, dust from this sand "is known to cause cancer in the state of California." Annoyed from the wasted time and money, I threw the bags in our garden shed to be returned (where they sit this very minute).
Fast forward to another spring, and thoughts of outdoor play. We have a new play set care of my kid's generous grandparents. There is a great little spot for a sandbox. I visited my neighbor today, and she had just bought sand that looked less refined then what I had bought, and it didn't have the warning label. I checked the website of the company, and sure enough, it contained a hazardous material warning. Not on the bag, mind you, but on the website. So folks are buying this sand without knowing that it might be bad for their kids.
So what is the problem? Apparently, most types of play sand contain crystalline silica and asbestos tremolite. The silica is derived from quartz stone and is a known carcinogen. California's fantastic Prop 65 requires the labeling of carcinogen's in products for sale in that state.
OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration) says this about crystalline silica, "Silica, Crystalline: Silicosis is a disabling, nonreversible and sometimes fatal lung disease caused by overexposure to respirable crystalline silica. More than one million U.S. workers are exposed to crystalline silica, and each year more than 250 die from silicosis. There is no cure for the disease, but it is 100 percent preventable if employers, workers, and health professionals work together to reduce exposures." Apparently, the small pieces of silica can be inhaled and trapped in lung tissue. To see the California label, and to learn more about silica, visit SafeSand.com.
Asbestos tremloite is a form of asbestos, and puts kids at risk of developing a lung cancer that is mostly caused by limited absestos exposure, and this risk can continue for decades. According to the Green Guide, and Philip Landrigan, M.D., director of the Center for Children's Health and the Environment at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, children breathe proportionally more air than adults, and they play close to the ground, thus increasing their exposure significantly. Think about kids playing in sandboxes, they literally sit in it, are constantly pouring and creating dust (and c'mon, they're kids--many times, they are eating it!), therefore ingesting and breathing in these carcinogens.
It completely boggles my mind that this sand is being sold labeled and unalabeled, right now, all over the U.S. I think if parents knew about this most of them wouldn't buy it.
So what to do? CHEC's HealtheHouse shares some good tips for what to do. The kind of play sand that can have these two carcinogens is made from crushed rock, so look for river or beach sand, usually found at landscape and gardening stores. This is what I will be doing. Also, there is a company called Safe Sand that sells sand without tremoite and silica (but unfortunately it is expensive). In the very least, avoid very fine sand that gives off easily ingested dust.
Non-Toxic Kids is a Premier Content Partner of SustainLane. Katy can be found at Non-Toxic Kids sharing helpful information about how to raise kids as naturally as possible. She is a teacher, freelance writer, and mama from the mountains of Vermont.
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Ken O. says:
I noticed this on a bag of rocks I bought for gardening purposes at Long's Drugs and was similarly annoyed. The gardening solution then is to use volcanic pumice. For a sandbox, maybe not. (the lava rock bags had no such notice, even though other bags of gravel by the same company did.)
Yes, Prop 65 is great - I see it posted everywhere - at 99 Ranch (this facility...), my LEED Silver apartment complex underground area (this facility...), in Bed Bath and Beyond (these crystal lead products...), on every new appliance sold with any kind of flexible electric power cable (softer flexible plastics contain LEAD... that makes the PVC/plastic bend better?)
Jeannie C. says:
where can you find safe sand in Chicago? How safe are the parks as long as kids stay out of the sand boxes?
Kim S. says:
I liked Greg's post.
The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica (from the Latin silex), is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of SiO2 and has been known for its hardness since antiquity.[1] Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms. It is a principal component of most types of glass and substances such as concrete. Silica is the most abundant mineral in the earth's crust.
We just bought sand (we haven't used it yet thought) for my son's sand box. This is a link to the letter that U.S. Silica posted on their website. This is the sand we purchased.
http://www.u-s-silica.com/Recreational%20Sands%20Health%20Info/Recreational%20Sands%20Health%20Info.pdf
Silica is used in the production of various products.
Inexpensive soda-lime glass is the most common and typically found in drinking glasses, bottles, and windows.
A raw material for many whiteware ceramics such as earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.
A food additive, primarily as a flow agent in powdered foods, or to absorb water (see the ingredients list for).
Used in the extraction of DNA and RNA due to its ability to bind to the nucleic acids under the presence of chaotropes.
As hydrophobic silica it is used as a defoamer component.
As hydrated silica in toothpaste (abrasive to remove plaque.)
As a high-temperature thermal protection fabric.
In cosmetics for its light-diffusing properties and its absorbency.
Liquid silicon dioxide (colloidal silica) is used as a wine and juice fining agent.
As a glidant in pharmaceutical products silicon dioxide aids powder flow when tablets are formed.
In the production of tires
Thermal enhancement compound used in thermal grouts for the ground source heat pump industry.
Kristen C. says:
I agree with Greg and Kim S. - I just purchased sand from a local store and saw the warning label. The mother in me freaked out immediately and questioned whether or not to return the sand immediately. However, the organic chemist in me said decided to do some research and it's true...silica is one of the most abundant minerals on the planet. Your child will be exposed to this material their entire lives. It's the dust that is the problem - and your child would have to be breathing just dust 8 hours a day, at least 5 days a week for this to be a problem.
Long story short, if you are concerned about the silica dust, then place the sand in a shallow tub, pour water in and let all the fine silt and dust float to the top. Then pour off the fine stuff and viola! Much less to worry about.
As for me, I filled up my son's sand box with the cheap stuff, rinsed it, poured off the fine particles and we have both had a great time. Don't be dooped...
Josh K. says:
To Greg J: I know you are trying to clear up misconceptions, and expose companies (and lawmakers) who would create fear unnecessarily (or for profit), but I can't just take your word for it, for the same reason you suggest not taking theirs. I have read the fine print of enough science articles, to know that research is often paid for by people with an interest in the outcome. I’m uneasy with your implication that the only thing to fear is actual death from sand dust exposure. As if a person would be perfectly healthy after repeated exposure, up until the moment they contracted silicosis. More likely is that there would be smaller, perhaps cumulative health problems that might arise (especially in developing children) which was not captured in the data you quote from, since it does not reach the threshold of death, or silicosis diagnosis. You (we all) are making assumptions based on limited data, which I doubt includes statistics on e.g. increases in asthma, or respiratory problems. Another common mineral, asbestos, thought to be unsafe for many years, continued to be used extensively b/c of a lack of data directly linking it to health problems. Original asbestos studies said that only workers with long term daily exposure were at risk, but later found that their families, and even people living within a certain radius of naturally occurring asbestos deposits were also more at risk. I’m not saying that I know for sure that sporadic and minimal exposure to silica, will lead to health problems, I just think you are being a little too certain that it couldn’t.
The link that Kim S. posted states “All the published scientific literature contains no evidence that silicosis or silica-related lung cancer occurs among people with non-occupationally related exposures at beaches, backyards, or sandboxes.” While this sounds encouraging, it merely states that the studies so far have not shown something that they did not actually look for in the study.
Travis H. says:
You are all freaking neurotic! Parents nowadays panic and fuss over every possible thing that might harm their children. Thus when you go to playgrounds there are no longer jungle gyms, merry-go-rounds, or see-saws. All things that no doubt gave us great joy as children. As to the sand causing cancer, I once read that carrots contain a certain substance that causes cancer, so are we to not eat carrots anymore? Children have been playing in sandboxes for decades, do any of you know anyone who has ever got cancer or siliocis from playing in the sandbox? Is sand more dangerous today than it was 50 years ago? NO, we're just more neurotic. Get over it and let your kids be kids.
Elli A. says:
So was the sand that I used to play in as a kid polluted with carcinogens as well? Didn’t effect anyone I know (yet), so I guess not. Outdoors sand is full of junk, mostly dog poo and urine in public parks.
Andrew P. says:
Get your fears sorted. Your kids are way more likely to get skin cancer from the sun tna lung cancer from the sand.
Jess G. says:
IMO you're more likely to get Ring Worm from a sand box than Cancer! Relax People and let the kids have some fun.
Lisa W. says:
A toddler in a preschool/daycare might sit sifting through sand in the sandbox five days a week from the age of two to five. What if the sand in the sandbox was filled to the brim with regular hardware store construction sand made from crushed quartz? If he/she were a 200 pound construction worker, OSHA would recommend air masks and protective clothes for daily exposure. If nobody is conducting a study on babies, then no evidence shows up -- but the studies have been done on grownups and the evidence points clearly to the danger of regular exposure to dusty crushed quartz sand. How do the tiny, sharp dust particles embedded into lung tissue get passed out of the body? All sand is not equal. Make an educated choice and choose safe sand for your child's sandbox. The CA warning label is not paranoid, it is based on solid science. Ask the seller for a MSDS and make an educated decision.
Dan B. says:
The California lawmakers are crazy. Silca IS sand. It's the most abundant compound in the earths crust. You might as well call it "earth". It is only dangerous if your a sandblaster or mine worker that is breathing in the dust over a lifetime (with no respirator). It gets in the lungs and it's not biodegradable (of course, it's been here 4 billion years) and it clogs your lungs cells and causes cancer. Very similar, if not identical to asbestos. I'm not sure if asbestos is any more dangerous than sand.
Anyway, using the crazy lawmaker's rational, anything should be labeled toxic. Titanium, one the most body friendly metals for implants/ etc. will kill you, if you form it into a knife and stick it in your chest. Water will kill if you, if you get it in your lungs, or even drink to much of it. Should we label them toxic as well???
Scott S. says:
The issue here is not simply that play sand contains silica. Yes, silica is abundant. Yes, silica can be found in beach sand. But beach sand is not so finely ground that you can inhale it. The problem with most play sand is that it's formed by taking quartz rock and grinding it so finely (more so than would naturally occur in nature, e.g. a grain of beach sand) that the crystalline silica dust particles are easily stirred up in the air and inhaled. You don't have to be sandblasting with it, or a mine worker, for it to be dangerous. It's a proven carcinogen in adults. Not to mention that there's also fibrous tremolite in it (which like asbestos is toxic if it gets in the lungs...no long term exposure necessary). Having either one of these things would be bad enough, but exposing kids to both of them is insane. For a 2-3 foot tall person with developing lungs, this stuff is just plain risky.
Yes, when we were young we played in sandboxes and nobody worried about the sand, and nobody got sick from it. But we weren't playing in this stuff. Parents back then didn't *buy* special play sand at the store; they just scooped some off the beach or used plain dirt from the backyard. It wasn't until more recently that someone had the idea to grind up rocks into powder and sell it as a "cleaner" or "more pure" sand for kids to play in. I don't love the idea of paying $60 for one bag of the Safe Sand brand, but I'm sure going to look for an alternative to quarry-ground play sand. Local beach sand is sounding pretty good right now.
Dan B. says:
Good points. I asked the local garden shop and they recommended masons sand. I got a trailer full of that for our kids sandbox (for $30/ 1/2yd^3) and that doesn't appear at all dusty (And it makes better sand castles). We previously had a small sand box with the "play sand" and that did seem finer, but our kids always mixed in water so it was almost always wet and not dusty. Now, even if they had played with it dry and got dust in the air, if it was enough that they were breathing in significant amounts, I would think they would be coughing or displaying signs or irritation. I know from woodworking that when there's a lot of saw dust in the air, I can feel it and I improve the ventilation or put on a respirator. Certain types of wood have more silica in the saw dust (from growing in sandy soil) and are more dangerous to breath in. Based on the research I've done, it takes large amounts of exposure to airborne silica or asbestos to cause cancer. Are there actually good studies that show increased risk of cancer due to air born silica or asbestos from non-occupational exposure?
Dan B. says:
One more note. Just because a lot of something is bad for you, doesn't mean a little is. I used to work in the nuclear energy field and I know a lot about radiation dangers/benefits. Yes a lot of radiation is bad for you, but a little is good for you. If you never go out in the sun and get a bit of radiation, your body can't process Vitamin D. A little Chlorine bleach in the watter supply makes our water safe to drink, but a lot will kill you. If you have a mass spectrometer, you can detect just about any element or compound in any arbitrary sample. If we go about assuming that since a lot of something is bad, a little must be bad too, pretty soon your left being afraid of everything and that's not healthy.
They make nuclear regulations to ensure that occupational exposure is so far below even background levels or radiation that life guards get higher doses than radiation workers. This (and many other silly rules) makes a very clean source of energy prohibitively expensive. Sorry about getting off topic...
Stan C. says:
silica is the general chemical name for the different types of materials, but silica comes in different forms, and asbestos is one form of silica and can be seen under microscopic examination like needles. Best to buy the sand from a toy store because about 15 years ago there was a big scare about this very problem. Only god knows what is actually in there. Just look at the chinese wall board problems.
Ella T. says:
It's not a matter of weather or not we think it will harm our kids or weather we think everyone is neurotic and freeking out for no reason. I keep hearing you all say just let your kids be kids and let them play and I agree let them play but if the sand you are using has something in it that holds a risk of making your child sick then for their sake why would'nt you just pay a little more and get a sand that does not have that stuff in it. just because you never heard of a child getting sick or dying from playing in this sand doesnt mean that it cant happen so yes let your kids play but buy them safe sand to play in because to not do that means that you dont fully care about your childs health and well being. there is nothing wrong with taking a simple step to make sure that the sand your kids are playing with is safe. I dont know about everyone els but my childrens safety comes first because you cannot replace your children if they die. and even if they played in that sand and never got sick or died does it mean its ok to let your kids breathe this stuff into their lungs? I mean dont your kids mean enough to you to want them to play in safer sand? it's not being neurotic people its being a parent to your kids and being smart.
Dan B. says:
I would never let my kids play in something unnecessarily dangerous. But calling sand toxic is like calling water toxic. It is only toxic if you inhale large amounts of it (As is water). That doesn't happen from normal playing. You could never let your kids swim and they'd get less water in their lungs, but a little bit of water in the lungs isn't harmful and does no long term damage. I hate it when my kids choke on water, I do whatever I can to teach them to be careful and prevent it, but I'm not going to not let them swim so it never happens. By the way, regular masons sand is cheaper than the "play sand" which has the finer grains and warning labels.
Amanda R. says:
Yeah cancer is also gene related so I guess we all need to get a warning tattoo on our rears warning others about the potential we may cause. Sheesh, get a life people! The studies done on 200lb workers are conducted on employees that are indoors and not out! Indoor ventilation is not the same as the mass expanse of fresh (depending on where you live) air that will be surrounding your child and blowing the "toxic" dust out of harm's way. Some of you worry-warts are giving your children toxic fumes to inhale everyday, all day long and you don't even know it! Anything that has a fragrance to it is using formaldehyde to emit the fragrance, so unless your using organic essential oils for your fragrances in your fabric softener or dryer sheets, house hold air freshener, shampoo, parfumes, etc you are exposing them to formaldehyde (i.e. toxic fumes). Your carpeting and hardwood floors emit formaldehyde off gasses for approx 8 yrs, give or take based on UV exposure and ventilation of the home. I won't even get started on tap water and the percentages of estrogen and pharmaceuticals they find in ppm. Point is, you can't keep your child's environment 100% toxin free, yes do what you can, but be realistic for cryin' out loud. Life's too short to try to wrap our children in bubbles, and worrying about everything they encounter is not going to keep them from getting sick, sometimes it's just a child's genetic make up and you can't fix that...yet. Life happens and unless you have the know how you aren't going to stop it. Don't raise you children to be fearful of everything, you'll ending raising a bunch of hypochondriacs who will never want to do anything!
Jameela G. says:
Interesting reading all the comments on here. The fact is you can choose to buy whatever sand you want your child to play in, but the important thing is that you are informed of the risks. I'm grateful for Prop 65. It doesn't mean you can't purchase whatever you want, but they are informing you of the risks you may be taking. Information is a beautiful thing.
Greg M. says:
To quote the article, "I noticed a label on the bottom of the sand bag, that read the now famous line, dust from this sand "is known to cause cancer in the state of California."
Easy answer: Don't use it in California.
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