I was all excited today that I've finally gotten some sand to begin to refill our empty-for-a-year sandbox (we'd moved it and hadn't gotten around to getting new sand). A parent complained, saying play sand isn't safe, and sending links to various articles (re lung cancer, silicone, manufactured sand). Of course the good stuff costs an arm and a leg, and it's all going to get lost all over the yard. Just wondering what others use, and how concerned you are about it. I just wanted to fill my sandbox.

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My husband went across the street and brought back several wheelbarrows full of sand from and empty lot.

Is "play sand" different than just plain old sand?

Gosh, I get that their may be risks...I guess....but where do you draw the line?

We COULD just wrap them all in egg cartons or something, right?

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I do buy "playground sand" from Lowes. Not sure what the differenceis but there must be something different for them to package it that way. May not as dusty something. I have noticed with this type I have had no problems ever with cats though doing their business in it.

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We have several gravel pit/construction companies in town. If you are willing to shovel and haul your own sand, they allow you to take as much as you need for free.

When we built our sandbox (14 ft x 14 ft) we were lucky enough that we were able to have a friend haul a giant dump truck load over from a small sand pit we have on our own property.

Wondering if you could ask if you have a business that is similar.

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I do too.

Here's an article that you can print out and give to your concerned parent.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/lifest...5807-ar-35547/

Point out highlight the part that says

"There have been no documented cases of children developing cancer from play sand. Most warnings refer to frequent, long-term exposure.

Nevertheless, sandbox play is the latest beneficial developmental activity to have lost its innocence. Lead in swing-set coatings, pool drains that can trap children underwater, carcinogenic plastic in drinking vessels and toxic play sand are seen as either true causes for concern or just the latest causes for overprotective parents."

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This made me chuckle as a cople years back we had this thing with landscape timbers being made with arsenic in them as a preservative and I had a daycare parent who wrote out explicit instructions that her children were to NEVER be allowed to play in my sandbox because she thought the landscape timbers we used to make the box were full of arsenic.

Ours weren't, as we had bought the non-arsenic kind that was completely safe but she just kep saying "you can never be too sure".

It was sooooo sad to see a giganitc sandbox filled with happy palying kids while her two boys sat off wishing they could play too.

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You cant even buy the bad treated timbers anymore.... I replace my swingset in a grant using that as an excuse. the man from the health dept laughed. He was glad it worked to get the grant but any arsenic had leached out of the wood years ago he said.

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We get ours from the sand plant it is dredged from the river.
Just read the label the problem sand is the ground up quartz so choose the stuff used for concrete it is usually brown no white and is not ground quartz

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