Swimming Pool Safety

Every year, in the United States, 300 to 400 children under the age of five drown in residential swimming pools.

The figure does not include those children who survive a near-drowning, some with permanent injuries including brain damage.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff believes that a barrier restricting access from the house to the pool is one of the best ways to prevent these accidents.

Nationally, after fire deaths, drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death in the home to children under the age of five. In four states, Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, it is the leading cause. Obviously, there are more pools in those areas.

The most common scenario leading to these deaths is that a child (often only one or two years old) is being supervised but the parent or caretaker is momentarily distracted. It only takes a few minutes for the adventuresome child to find his/her way to the pool. The few minutes required to discover that the child is missing is often too long to prevent drowning or serious injury.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff believes that a barrier restricting access from the house to the pool is one of the best ways to prevent these accidents.

In a study of drowning or near-drowning accidents, the commission found that almost all of the victims lived in or visited the residence where the accident happened. Less than two percent of the accidents occurred when the child trespassed on the property. In other words, the child reached the pool from the adjacent house.

CPSC staff has developed a model pool barrier code. The key points are these:

The most important element is that a fence or barrier, at least 48 inches high with no footholds or handholds surrounds the pool, hot tub, or spa.

When a wall of a house is used as part of the barrier, all doors leading from the house to the pool must be equipped with an appropriate alarm to alert caretakers when the door is opened.

A power safety cover should protect the pool when it is not in use.

More specifically, the CPSC proposed regulations (to be administered through existing code enforcement organizations) which include the following provisions for any outdoor, private swimming pool, hot tub, or spa:

1. That there be a barrier around the entire pool, at least 48 inches high, with a maximum vertical clearance between ground and the bottom of the barrier of two inches.
2. That openings in the barrier should not allow passage of anything greater than a four inch diameter sphere.
3. That solid barriers shall not have openings or indentations that make it possible to climb over the barrier.
4. That barriers composed of horizontal and vertical members shall be constructed to minimize the possibility of a child climbing over it.
5. That the maximum mesh size for chain-link fence shall be 1-1/4 inch square.
6. That access gates shall be equipped to accommodate a locking device.
7. A Pedestrian access gates shall open outwards away from the poold shall be self locking and have a self-latching device.
8. Where a wall serves as part of the barrier, all doors with direct access to the pool through that wall shall be equipped with an alarm which produces an audible warning when the door and its screen are opened.
9. For an above-ground pool or where the barrier is mounted on top of the pool structure, ladder or steps used as access shall be lockage or removable to prevent access when the pool is not supervised by adults.
10. Indoor pools shall have all walls satisfy solid wall barrier standards as noted above.

The previous is a condensed summary of the standards. For more specifics, you can write to:

"Pool Safety," U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207.

Ask for a copy of Safety Barrier Guidelines for Pools, (CPSC359).

The CPSC can also be reached through their toll-free hotline: (800)638-2772. Or, visit their web site: www.cpsc.gov

Most important is to recognize that many pool drownings result from children getting from the residence to the pool, not by outsiders trespassing on the property.

To this extent, maintaining the integrity of the wall from the house to the pool becomes critical to preventing these needless tragedies.