Chlorine and Human Secretions, THE FACTS

This is all you need to know about preventing harmful elements in pools that result from sweat, urine, and other human secretions. 

Thanks to my friend, Robert T. Burrows, of SureWater Technologies, for drawing up this list.

A Chloramine Prevention Precursor

Cloramines are a result of the incomplete oxidation of natural waste products from swimmers (sweat, urine, body oils and other ammonia-nitrogen compounds) in the water. It is the combination of chlorine with these waste products in the pool that cause the harmful elements to form. Here is a list of some simple and affordable things that can be done to reduce this formation process from a prevention standpoint.

Education:

This point should be addressed both externally and internally. Externally through public education. All users of the swimming facility should be educated in the cause of chloramines and the benefits of good hygiene practices prior to entering the water. The use of pre-swim soap showers, along with regular bathroom breaks can have a big impact on the reduction in the amount of waste product being introduced into the pool by users. Policies related to the enforcement of facility hygiene practices should be clearly conveyed to participants, parents, instructors and coaches alike. Support for this hygiene practice can be found at the Centers for Disease Control Healthy Swimming site; http://www.cdc.gov/healthySwimming/pdf/pool_user_tips.pdf . 

Internal education must include both the purpose for these hygiene practices and the enforcement procedures of this as facility policy. All staff should be included from desk help and attendants to Lifeguards and Pool Operators. The CDC Healthy Swimming site has some valuable resources in the area of staff education as well; http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/poolstaff.htm . Operator education should include training in the area of chloramine prevention methods as part of a professional certification course, along with regular continuing training in this area. 

Enforcement:

The enforcement of good hygiene practices is the responsibility of all persons involved in the provision of aquatic programming. The effectiveness of preventative hygiene practices is a direct result of the combination of user education coupled with adequate enforcement. Coaches and instructors must require team members and students to be showered prior to entering the water. Pool staff are responsible for assuring that all participants are abiding by this policy as well as moderating regular breaks in the swim schedule for the use of sanitary facilities. 

Filtration

Reduce the load on the filtration system by lowering the bather capacity of the facility. This may be an unpopular approach with management to chloramine prevention, but it is effective where a filtration or disinfection system may be inadequate to maintain flow requirements for consistent water chemistry. The premise is less bodies, less waste product in the water required to filter and oxidize. This makes sense, but not dollars, so the cost benefit must be evaluated prior to employing this step.

Ventilation

In indoor facilities, increase exhaust of ventilation system during peak use periods. This helps in particular with the removal of existing chloramines in gaseous form which otherwise would be re-circulated throughout the ventilation system and reintroduced into the facilities' air space.

Chemistry

Reduce the pools' pH level (7.2 – 7.4 ppm) to increase the effectiveness of free chlorine in the water. Minimize the use of stabilizer in outdoor pools to optimize chlorine efficiency. Maintain consistent ORP level (oxidation reduction potential – qualitative measure of chlorine's effectiveness)  through a high capacity chemical feed system sized to reliably provide a feed-rate that greatly exceeds the pool's usage at any given time. This works to help prevent incomplete oxidation of the waste products in the water and the consequential formation of chloramines.

These simple steps, when effectively applied, can help to vastly reduce the development of chloramines in even the most heavily used swimming facilities. Further strategies can be employed, but most are designed to eliminate chloramines already present in the water and come with a greater price tag. An ounce of prevention can definitely be worth a pound of cure when providing for a healthy environment for swimmers.

Here are a couple of additional resources that address the issue of chloramines. First, a well researched article written for The New York Times Health Section last summer with almost eighty comments by readers attached; http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/are-indoor-pools-bad-for-your-lungs/?apage=1#comments . Second, a piece written by the former long-term Director of Aquatics at Penn State University, Tom Griffiths, from The Complete Swimming Pool Reference for Water Quality & Health, a publication of the Chlorine Chemistry Division of the American Chemistry Council; http://www.waterandhealth.org/newsletter/cleaning_air.html.  http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=6924#transcript

For even more info go to sureH2O.com.

Gold Medal Media, LLC 

Comments

[payday loans]

You can find so many people who do not know how to manage their debts and they are facing various issues. Those people who know how to manage it can really enjoy the benefits.

[Bruce Wettstein]

Great article, and very timely as we head in to the swim season.

Can I add on other form of sanitizing a swimming pool to the mix? Although not available everywhere (yet), Reverse Osmosis (R/O) will remove nearly everything from a swimming pool and leave fresh water in return. Calcium, bacteria, TDS, virus', etc. are all removed with an R/O treatment.

San Diego county has a R/O company (www.poolservicestech.com) and the greater Phoenix area does as well (www.calsaway.com). Both are established companies that can handle the chemistry and hygiene of a swimming pool, and offer a solution to drain and refilling when pools get really out of balance.