Here’s the story from InjuryBoard.com. The Citizen-Times reported this week that at least one pool was ordered to shut down because it had not met the safety requirements.
About a month ago, I wrote about how swimming pool operators would be required to install new safety devices aimed at preventing entanglement and drowning. Despite having nearly a year to comply with the Pool and Spa Safety Act, most pool operators failed to update their facilities. Many pools and spas remain open in flagrant defiance of the law, with the owners often citing the cost of the upgrade and the unavailability of necessary drain covers.
This situation raises a number of interesting and important questions about the potential liability of non-compliant pool operators. The U.S.Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has an obligation to enforce the law as directed by Congress. According to a press releasedirected to the National Swimming Pool Foundation and other pool safety organizations, the CPSC has set up an enforcement regime that gives the highest priority to pools and spas that pose the greatest risk to children.
Pool operators could also face civil liability if someone is injured or killed due to drain entrapment. Under the legal doctrine of negligence per se, the pool operator could be conclusively or presumptively held responsible if an unapproved drain cover causes a drowning or similar injury. While the facts of each individual case will govern the outcome, the Pool and Spa Safety Act appears to satisfy the basic requirements of the doctrine.
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I am blogging about another pool problem SLIPPERY TILES in footings ( the area where people walk in pools usually about 4.5 feet deep). People have been installing slippery tiles on the floor of pools and it can have dangerous consequences. Please check out my blog for more information.
http://pooldanger.blogspot.com/
Swimming in Asheville is a red headed step child. Pools cost money directly from a single line item on county and school budgets. Football, Basketball, and Baseball budgets are spread out and therefore minimalized. Astroturf is lawncare. Floor polishing is maintenance. The real price is obscured by athletic directors with an agenda that is opposed to competitive swimming for high schoolers. How many athletic directors in this area have big fat football rings on big fat fingers? How many athletic directors in this area are willing to stifle a sport they do not understand because they simply do not ever take the time to show up and witness the meets? The Wachovia Cup is the resume builder they are after and swimming doesn’t help enough for their taste.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a mandate that all public pools and spas be in compliance with legal requirements to prevent entrapment threats on pool drains by December 19, 2008.If your public or commercial pool or spa is open year round, you have just days left to comply.
The VGB act requires all pools to have dual main drains with special approved drain covers. This can be costly if you have single main drains currently, to convert to dual can cost $1,200 or more per drain, and require draining the pool. We have listed some workarounds below, however, Check with your local health department to be sure! As a minimum, all commercial, public or semi-public pools are required to install approved main drain covers, marked with ANSI/ASME A112.19.8-2007
If you currently have only a single drain in your public pool or spa, these are your likely options: Install an unblockable channel drain – 32” x 4” Cut out the single drain and replace with two connected drains, 3 ft apart
Disable the drain, or convert it from a suction line to a pool return
Install a Safety Vacuum Release System If you already have dual main drains, at least 3 feet apart, simply replace the old covers with new covers that are imprinted with the ANSI 112.19.8-2007.
If your pool is currently “closed” for the winter, you have some extra time to come into compliance. But don’t wait until the last minute! Inspectors will be extra vigilant on the main drain issue come spring 2009. Help to make sure that your pool drains don’t cause the next victim! Read the complete Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act here at POOLCENTER.com.
This is a shame that these public and private pools have not been brought up to code. Google this and read what has happened to these children. Even when the parents jumped in to rescue them they could not pry them off the bottom of the pool. Horrible, just horrible.