Asbestos traces found in second gym

Louise Taylor.
Louise Taylor.
Traces of asbestos have been found at a second Dunedin Gymnastics Academy facility.

The Dunedin Gymnastics Academy (DGA) was forced to permanently abandon its Willis St gym in late May when asbestos contamination was discovered.

Now it has had to temporarily flee its Vogel St gym after traces of asbestos were found on some surfaces at the venue.

''The good news is that the air is clear - no asbestos found. The bad news is that the tests came back positive for some surfaces in the gym,'' DGA president Louise Taylor wrote on the academy's website.

''The executive has made the prudent decision to close Vogel St gym until it has been professionally cleaned and any gear that is unable to be cleaned ... has been removed. This is likely to take around four weeks, so we expect to have training restart in week two of term four.''

Taylor told the Otago Daily Times the discovery came as a complete shock.

Some old roofing sheets were found in a storage area during a working bee on Sunday. To be cautious, the academy called in Southern Insulation to test for asbestos.

''It is a really disappointing setback for us to have to deal with,'' Taylor said.

''It has just come completely out of the blue. We had no reason to believe there would be any asbestos at Vogel St because it is not constructed on anything made from asbestos.''

The roof at Vogel St was replaced about 15 years ago. It is thought any asbestos that had gathered on the rafters was disturbed during the working bee.

''This is a totally different situation from Willis St,'' Taylor added.

''Willis St has a roof made of asbestos that is ageing - it is 80 years old. The advice is that it had started to deteriorate and that is why the asbestos was getting on to surfaces in the gym.

''But at Vogel St gym, none of the building materials are asbestos. So it is just a matter of having it professionally cleaned by an accredited asbestos-removal expert.

''The building will need to be given a certified clean bill of health before we can move back in.''

Taylor said the advice from Public Health South was any health risk to the public was ''extremely low''.

Between 300 to 400 gymnasts will be affected by the temporary closure. But because the closure overlaps with the school holidays, the disruption is effectively for only a two-week period.

It has been a tumultuous time for the DGA. It was forced to write off $150,000 worth of equipment when it walked away from the gym in Willis St.

It has lodged an insurance claim to recover those costs, but the advice it has received suggests the claim will be unsuccessful.

However, Taylor said the DGA had received ''amazing support'' from the community and its finances were ''solid'' despite the setbacks.

Since abandoning Willis St, it has moved into a much more suitable venue in Otaki St. And recently there has been some good news on the equipment front.

The DGA will buy a full set of gym equipment used at the Rio Olympics at ''a very good price''.

''Overall, the club is in very good heart. We have an awesome and supportive gymnastics community who are behind us 100%.''

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