Pool Safety Council, Safe Kids USA Issue Joint Guidance on Pool and Spa Safety Act

Pool Safety Council, Safe Kids USA Issue Joint Guidance on Pool and Spa Safety
Act

WASHINGTON, March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pool Safety Council and
Safe Kids USA today released a joint guidance document outlining requirements
for public pools and spas to come into compliance with the Virginia Graeme
Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. The guidance document was developed in an
effort to correct inaccurate information circulating about the steps necessary
to protect swimmers from the threat of drain entrapment.

The Pool and Spa Safety Act, which went into effect in December 2008, was
named after former Secretary of State James Baker's granddaughter, who died
after becoming entrapped in a spa drain. The law requires all public pools and
spas take relatively simply measures to prevent drain entrapment from
occurring.

All public pools must install approved safety drain covers, while single drain
public pools must also install approved anti-entrapment devices, such as a
Safety Vacuum Release System (SVRS), an automatic pump shut-off system, a
gravity drainage system or a suction-limiting vent system.

The full guidance can be found on the Pool Safety Council's Web site,
www.poolsafetycouncil.org.

Many early documents issued by municipalities and county officials nationwide
caused confusion, were contradictory and misstated the requirements needed in
order to comply with the Pool and Spa Safety Act.

Some common myths:
-- Single drain public pools are not required to install multiple drains.
Rather, federal law only requires that single drain pools install
approved anti-entrapment drain covers and use one of the other
secondary
layers of protection listed above.
-- Pools do not need to be drained in order for drain covers to be
installed. Initial requirements out of Los Angeles County that its
16,000 public pools be drained in order to replace covers would have
led
to nearly one billion gallons of wasted water.
-- The law does not require public pools install new sumps.

Dual drain pools only need to install approved safety drain covers to comply
with the law, but PSC and Safe Kids strongly recommend all pools and spas,
even private residential pools and spas, install both approved drain covers
and an additional layer of protection.

The Pool Safety Council has worked closely with a number of state officials
nationwide to ensure the distribution of accurate guidance to ensure that the
life-saving law can be both implemented and enforced.

"Our phones won't stop ringing with requests for additional information about
Virginia Graeme Baker compliance," said Pool Safety Council spokesman John
Procter. "We want to make sure that pool operators have access to accurate
and uniform information before they make what could be costly and needless
modifications."

The Pool Safety Council and Safe Kids USA were two of the leading proponents
of the creation of the Pool and Spa Safety Act. The Consumer Products Safety
Commission reports that an estimated 2,300 children were treated in hospital
emergency rooms for pool submersion injuries in 2004. Drowning is the second
leading cause of accidental death among children ages one to 14. According to
Safe Kids USA, approximately 280 children younger than five drown each year in
swimming pools, while thousands more are treated in emergency rooms for
near-drowning each year. When a swimmer becomes stuck to a drain or suction
outlet in a swimming pool, spa, wading pool or hot tub, the force of the
filtration system can be overpowering. It is called entrapment; when the
supercharged suction from insufficiently covered drains pins the swimmer
underwater. The pressure is so powerful that even strong swimmers can't
escape, and would-be rescuers are unable to free them.

PSC is a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of child drowning
nationwide. For additional information, please visit our Web site at:
www.poolsafetycouncil.org.

Contact: John Procter
Phone: (800) 970-8420

SOURCE Pool Safety Council

John Procter of Pool Safety Council, +1-800-970-8420