Keep the Pool Safe This Summer

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  New Jersey. Department of Health
• Description:
  As the summer season approaches, residential pool owners and public pool operators should be sure to take safety precautions when using chemicals to treat the water to protect both themselves and swimmers from potential health hazards. Nationally, nearly 5,000 people visited an emergency room for injuries associated with pool chemicals, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Department is advising residential pool owners and public pool operators to take the following steps to prevent injuries due to pool chemicals including: Read and follow directions on product labels; Check pool chemical levels before making an adjustment; Use a new test kit each season and check the kit's expiration date; Wear appropriate safety equipment such as goggles and masks, as directed; Keep young children away when handling chemicals; NEVER mix different pool chemicals with each other; No swimmers should be in the water while adding chemicals; The pool area should not have a strong chlorine smell. In New Jersey, the Department is reminding pool operators that employees also face health concerns, especially when manually adding chlorine-based chemicals to the water. Exposure to these chemicals may be associated with work-related asthma, the aggravation of existing asthma conditions or the onset of asthma symptoms, including: wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. Regulations require pool operators to add chemicals through an automated system; however, manual application of chlorine-based chemicals is sometimes unavoidable, increasing the risk of unsafe exposure levels to potential irritants. Studies that have examined exposure to chlorine have found that lifeguards and other pool employees have an increased risk of asthma. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Asthma, Occupational Chlorine Disinfectants Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Chemical Safety Occupational Asthma Respiratory Irritants
• Publisher:
  New Jersey Department of Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067640
• Citation:
  NJ Health Matters 2014 May; :5
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  New Jersey Health Matters
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9d335d9d2f191f888db130c144dfddab494f24a753024e49731d7f989c3285b5b52c6b90434eb30f21b6b160c5a9527b7aef1c23049ab312a1a74549e40d3bc4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229912/cdc_229912_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 779.89 KB ]