Archive page 29 The Builder's Beacon Pool and Spa Safety Alert 2002

The Builder's Beacon Pool & Spa Safety Alert

Pools and spas are places we use for sports, recreation and exercise.
They should be as safe as possible. Unfortunately, each year people are injured at public and private pools and spas.

Your swimming pool or spa may be hiding a serious danger that you should be aware of. The powerful forces that circulate the water in your pool or spa are capable of sucking young children onto the drains at the bottom or side of the pool or spa.
Last year in Florida, four children were killed by this suction force at the pool or spa drain, while others were seriously injured.

The good news is that we know how to eliminate many of the hazards that commonly result in injury or death. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has created pool and spa guidelines to help identify and eliminate dangerous entrapment hazards.

Your swimming pool or spa may be hiding s serious danger: drains!

There are three primary ways young children can become trapped by the suction forces at the bottom or side of the pool or spa:

1. Hair can be sucked into the drain and become entangled around the drain grate making it impossible to be pulled out.
2. Many old fashioned pool or spa drain covers that are flat to the bottom of the pool or spa, can suck a child's body part to the drain making it impossible to pull them off.
3. Loose, broken or missing pool or spa drain covers can allow a child to be pulled into the piping below the drain cover allowing a suction entrapment.

Prevention is the key!

There are a number of things you can do to prevent a child from becoming trapped by the suction forces in swimming pools and spas:

1. Never let children play around with the suction drains.
2. Check your pool or spa drain cover to make sure it is firmly secured.
3. Regularly examine your pool or spa drain cover to be sure that chemical exposure and ultraviolet rays have not caused it to decay.

There are a number of swimming pool and safety items available which can prevent drain suction entrapment:
1. Pool and spa drain covers which are ASME/ANSI A 112.19.8M-1987 certified. These drain covers have been tested for strength and prevent hair entanglement and body suction entrapment.
2. Safety vacuum relief devices which automatically sense that something is covering the pool or spa drain and in seconds automatically relieve the suction force from the pool or spa drain.
3. Vent piping.
These devices can be easily and quickly installed on any existing or new
swimming pool of spa and provide two "layers of
protection". If for any reason your child becomes entrapped by a pool or spa drain you must immediately:
1. Turn off the pump to the swimming pool or spa.
2. Immediately get air into the plumbing system in order to release the suction. It is recommended that you remove or break the clear cover over the pump basket or break open the piping in front
of the pump by whatever means necessary.