Top 10 Pool Floats, Lounges and Inflatables Make the most of your swimming season with the Top 10 pool floats, lounges, and inflatables! Adults and kids alike love to relax in the pool on floating mattresses or get some fitness...
Rules for Fences for Private Pools With the joy of owning a swimming pool comes the responsibility of enclosing it to prevent children and pets from accidentally gaining access. There are no federal laws governing swimming pool fences, but many...
Lawmaker Seeks Relief for Noncompliant Facilities
By Dan Schechner
One of the states most active in implementing federal safety measures may allow pools to open this season regardless of whether they comply with the law.
Illinois Rep. Jason Barickman (R-Champaign) has introduced a bill that would provide temporary relief to scores of public and semipublic facilities that have shown good faith in moving toward compliance with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, but have been held up by bureaucratic or financial roadblocks.
"While I understand the reason behind the law,
by Eric Herman
Aquamagazine.com
With the summer of 2011 and the great drain recall in the rear-view mirror, issues surrounding suction-entrapment accidents continue to challenge the pool and spa industry. Here senior editor and long-time industry observer Eric Herman raises some lingering questions and applies a helpful dose of common sense in an attempt to find a measure of clarity amid a decidedly confusing set of problems.
It's a subject that continues to dominate discussions in the pool and spa industry and cause no small measures of grief and frustration along the way. Any way you slice it, suction entrapment is a serious problem and until these incidents are completely eliminated, our industry is going to bear the stigma that comes along with it.
It's been nearly four decades since the CPSC began tracking
BY TIM O'BRIEN AND CASEY TONER
ctoner@southtownstar.com
The Illinois Department of Public Health has shut down more than 500 swimming pools across the state, including 10 at Southland high schools and dozens of other area locations from hotels to condo associations to community pools.
The pools were closed as of Saturday because they were not equipped with new, safer drains. Pools that were closed include those at Argo, Homewood-Flossmoor, Mount Carmel, Reavis, T.F. South and Thornton high schools, and four Bremen Community High School District 228 schools: Oak Forest, Tinley Park, Bremen and Hillcrest.
District 228 Supt. Bill Kendall said getting the permits needed for the new drains
Editorial: The CPSC's Stunning Vote by Scott Webb Why? That was my first thought when I heard that the CPSC would reverse its decision, making previously unblockable drains blockable again. Nothing happened between the time the CPSC saw these drains...
communications@cpsc.gov
To the pool and spa safety community:
On September 28, 2011, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted 3-2 to interpret an unblockable pool or spa drain based on the size of the drain opening and not the size of the drain cover used over the sump. This is an important decision for the pool safety community to be aware of, as CPSC continues to implement the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act.
The Commissioners heard from some members of Congress and families who have lost their children
CPSC Changes VGB Rule
by Scott Webb Aquamagazine.com
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has voted to reverse its earlier ruling on unblockable drains under VGB. Before the vote yesterday, an approved 18-by-23-inch drain cover could legally be used over a smaller sump in a single drain commercial pool. Now, the sump must also be at least 18 by 23 inches, or the pool will have to install other anti-entrapment measures, such as split drains, vent pipes, SVRS systems, etc.
Pools that met the old VGB criteria, using an approved drain cover over a smaller sump, will have to invest in equipment or renovations to meet the requirements of the new ruling.
At one point in discussions, a new compliance date of May 28, 2012, was proposed, but in its final statement, the CPSC announced
Students in a lifeguard class at Vernon Hills High School might have to go elsewhere for training. The pool will be closed Saturday because the school is not in compliance with a 2008 federal law requiring pool drains that prevent swimmers from getting trapped under water. (Keri Wiginton, Chicago Tribune / September 28, 2011)
from Chicagotribune.com
By Robert McCoppin and Amy Alderman, Tribune reporters
8:16 a.m. CDT, September 28, 2011
About 400 pools statewide are in danger of closing this weekend because they do not have legally mandated drains designed to keep swimmers from getting trapped, regulators warned Tuesday.
Some schools, park districts, hotels, and condo and apartment complexes may have to shut down their pools and hot tubs, potentially disrupting swim teams, lessons, exercise classes and recreational swimmers.
State officials said they warned pool managers about the new requirements six times over the past three years and would not extend the deadline beyond Saturday. Pools that aren't in compliance could remain closed for two months or more pending state approval of their plans.
New drains or covers that can't trap swimmers with powerful suction are required
By Jacque Wilson, CNN
(CNN) -- Catherine Garceau doesn't go to the pool anymore. The former Olympic swimmer has trained at many fitness centers over the years that smelled strongly of chlorine. While most would assume that means the water is clean, Garceau now knows it's just the opposite.
After winning bronze in 2000 with the Canadian synchronized swimming team in Sydney, Australia, Garceau was a "mess." Her digestive system was in turmoil, she had chronic bronchitis and she suffered from frequent migraines.
Garceau retired in 2002 and began looking into holistic medicine. Experts suggested detoxifying her body to rid it of chemicals, including what fellow teammates used to jokingly refer to