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The new federal law requires all public pools and spas, including those atcommunity parks, YMCAs, apartments, condominiums, and other homeownerassociations, waterparks, hotels, schools, and universities to be equippedwith drain covers that are certified to comply with the new ASME/ANSI 2007standard, as well as other safety measures to prevent entrapment andevisceration. CPSC, the enforcing agency of the Act, may impose enormousfinancial penalties and seek imprisonment for violators.
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"Swimming pool operators support preventing entrapment," says Dr.Lachocki. NSPF has funded suction entrapment and drowning prevention researchfor decades and trains over 20,000 pool and spa operators each year. "Despitegood faith efforts, organizations nationwide will not comply with this law bythe deadline for reasons that are outside of their control," asserts Lachocki,who outlines the current issues to include:
Controversy and confusion revolves around replacing existing unblockabledrains. The Pool & Spa Safety Act defines unblockable drains as "drains ofany size and shape that a human body can not sufficiently block to create asuction entrapment hazard." There is no evidence that an entrapment has everoccurred on an unblockable drain. Yet the Act and CPSC further requireunblockable drains (drains larger than 18" x 23") to satisfy a standard thatwill require tens of thousands of unblockable drains to be replaced. Afacility would have to close the pool, drain it, perform an engineeringreview, seek and gain local health department approval -- in some cases seekcompetitive bids -- dig trenches beneath the pool, replace the sump beneaththe drain covers, repair the structural steel and pool shell, re-plaster thepool, and re-fill and re-start the pool. This process could take a year andcost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and disrupt or permanently close thepool. One Massachusetts middle-school reports an estimate of $110,000. Thatpool, they say, will remain closed due to lack of money. Many professionalsdo not understand if a drain is "unblockable" and not a risk of entrapment,why it has to be replaced at all.
Since many unblockable drains are "field fabricated" by the pool builderand are unique in size and shape, there is not a "manufacturer" who will buildand have them tested to the 2007 standard required by the Pool & Spa SafetyAct and the CPSC. As a result, new compliant "unblockable" drains are notavailable in the market. "The controversy around replacing 'unblockabledrains' is an example where a slight oversight can jeopardize the intent ofthe Act," concludes Lachocki.
Swim lessons are one of the key tools to prevent drowning. Unfortunately,closing thousands of public pools means fewer children will learn to swim andfewer lifeguards will be trained. Closing pools also disrupts those who arerefining their swimming skills. "Within the interscholastic swimming programacross the United States, there were over 264,000 participants in 2007-2008,"says Becky Oakes, National Federation of State High School AssociationsAssistant Director. "The possible suspension of use of any pools couldcertainly impact students in their school programs." "We need to keep peopleswimming," states Adolph Kiefer, the 1936 Olympic gold medalist in backstrokeand an aquatics safety advocate.
Dozens of leading organizations have communicated with the CPSC to requesta 12 to 18 month delay in implementation. These include the NationalRecreation and Park Association (NRPA), the YMCA of the USA, National SwimmingPool Foundation, and many others.
A delay in implementation of the Pool & Spa Safety Act would allowactivities that benefit people (swim lessons, aquatic therapy andrehabilitation, lifeguard training, physical exercise, family-togetheractivities) to continue while the local pool and spa facility works to alsoreduce the risk of suction entrapment. NRPA, whose 21,000 members managemunicipal aquatic facilities, also sees the challenge with complying and hasprovided case studies to the CPSC outlining the impact. "There are a host ofexternal factors that are creating roadblocks for compliance, includingproduct availability, local water ordinances, availability of installationengineers, and the financial burden, estimated at $1,000 to $15,000 per pool,on many local governments at a time when their budgets are already stretched.Many communities manage many more than just one public pool, and some agenciesoperate scores of pools. Additionally, many older pools have field fabricateddrains that are uniquely shaped and would require specially designed covers orgrates," says Barbara Tulipane, CEO of NRPA. She adds that, "As a result,many facilities will be forced to shut down. Our member agencies tell us thatthe potential disruptions will be nationwide."
"An implementation delay makes sense to resolve technical issues and tosolve the entrapment problem -- without creating a drowning problem, reducingpublic services, and hurting our fragile economy," Lachocki reinforces. "Thisis not a money issue. Everyone agrees we need to prevent entrapment. How weget it done will dictate if lives are saved or lost. Furthermore, if we do itright, we can also help prevent painful job losses of thousands of people andpreserve valuable, safe programs for citizens. It may be a harder path, butit is the right path," he concludes.
For more information, or to schedule an interview, contact Laurie Batter,BatterUp! Productions at [email protected] or 760-438-9304.-- The Pool & Spa Safety Act budgets $5 million per year for an educational program requiring CPSC to establish and carry out education to the public pool service companies, pool facility owners, operators, and others. No such programs exist. As a result, facilities are either unaware or confused about the requirements of the Act. -- Some compliant covers are only now becoming available. -- Large and unique shaped (unblockable) compliant drain covers will not be available by the deadline. -- The Act requires existing large, "unblockable" drains to be replaced with no evidence the change will reduce the risk of entrapment. In addition to the drain cover, the area below the cover (the sump) must sometimes be excavated and replaced in order to be compliant. Confusion over this exists and can increase compliance costs which can reach $200,000 per pool. See discussion below. -- There are conflicts between engineering requirements in the Act and local laws already in place to prevent entrapment. -- State laws require local health departments to review and approve changes to pools before work begins. The Pool & Spa Safety Act is an unfunded mandate for health departments who do not have the capacity to review changes on all public pools in their jurisdiction prior to the deadline. Thus, operators must choose to either break a state law by making changes before the deadline, or to break a federal law by seeking state approval and missing the federal deadline. -- There are a limited number of qualified engineers, contractors, and design professionals available to design and implement changes. -- Design professionals are not willing to certify aquatic facilities as compliant due to ambiguity in the law and substantial fines and risk of imprisonment.
SOURCE National Swimming Pool Foundation
