Hidden Asbestos Risk in Leisure Facilities

Why is Asbestos Common in Leisure Facilities?

Before its total ban in the UK in 1999, asbestos was considered a “miracle material.” It was cheap, highly durable, and offered excellent fireproofing and insulating properties. Because leisure centres require extensive heating systems, moisture resistance, and fire protection, asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were used heavily in their construction from the 1950s through to the late 1990s.

Where is Asbestos Hiding in Sports Centres?

Leisure facilities are complex buildings with specialized infrastructure. Asbestos can often be found in areas out of public view, as well as in everyday spaces. Common locations include:

• Plant Rooms and Boiler Houses: Heavy-duty pipe lagging, thermal insulation, and gaskets on old boilers.

• Swimming Pools: Acoustic ceiling tiles, anti-condensation coatings, and pipework hidden in ceiling voids.

• Changing Rooms: Vinyl floor tiles, toilet cisterns, and textured decorative coatings (like Artex).

• Structural Elements: Asbestos insulating board (AIB) used for fire protection in partition walls and fire doors.

• Exteriors: Asbestos cement roof panels, cladding, and rainwater gutters.

The Real Danger: Maintenance and Wear & Tear

Asbestos is generally safe if it is in good condition and remains completely undisturbed. However, leisure facilities experience incredibly high footfall and heavy wear and tear. Furthermore, these buildings require constant maintenance—plumbers fixing pipes in boiler rooms, electricians running new cables in ceiling voids, or contractors updating changing rooms.

If tradespeople are unaware of the presence of asbestos, they can easily disturb it during routine maintenance, releasing dangerous microscopic fibers into the air.

Your Legal “Duty to Manage”

Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012), anyone responsible for the maintenance and repair of non-domestic premises has a legal “duty to manage” the asbestos in them. For leisure facilities, this usually falls to the local authority, the leisure trust, or the private management company.

This duty requires you to:

1. Find out if there is asbestos in the premises, its amount, and its condition.

2. Presume materials contain asbestos unless you have strong evidence that they do not.

3. Make and keep an up-to-date record (an Asbestos Register) of the location and condition of the ACMs.

4. Assess the risk of anyone being exposed.

5. Prepare an Asbestos Management Plan to manage that risk.

6. Provide this information to anyone liable to work on or disturb the materials (such as outside contractors).