The National Swimming Pool Foundation weighs in on pool safety

The National Swimming Pool Foundation® (NSPF) recently sent a letter endorsing the Commission's implementation of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act.

“NSPF believes the Commission has taken a sound technical position on this topic and it is correct in the assertion that vacuum release systems do not protect against most forms of entrapment to the degree an unblockable drain.” - NSPF

Because some special interest groups continue to generate press to the contrary, I thought it was important to circulate feedback from NSPF, a group with a long history of promoting pool safety.

The full text of the letter is copied below or you can enlarge the picture to see the original.

Click here for my statement on the Implementation of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act

August 11, 2009

The Honorable Anne Northup
Commissioner
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
4330 East West Highway
Bethesda, MD 20814

Dear Commissioner Northup,

The National Swimming Pool Foundation® (NSPF) has read and supports your position statement on unblockable drain definition relative to the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act. NSPF believes the Commission has taken a sound technical position on this topic and it is correct in the assertion that vacuum release systems do not protect against most forms of entrapment to the degree an unblockable drain. In addition, we applaud the CPSC’s efforts to fulfill the Act’s educational requirement since prevention of drowning and entrapment is paramount!

We understand that the Commission has been challenged by petition, letters and public media efforts to influence the Commission to change its ruling. We urge you to maintain your position.

NSPF is a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and safety of those who use aquatic facilities. NSPF has given over 3.7 million dollars in grants since 2003 to prevent drowning, illness, injury and entrapment and to demonstrate the health benefits of aquatic activity. The Foundation works towards its mission to encourage healthier living through aquatic education and research with its collection of educational materials training over 240,000 professionals since 1982.

It is important that we stand united to implement solutions that will work rather than those that may appear positive - yet have limited value. We applaud your efforts and admire your sound reasoning.

Please let us know if we can provide any assistance in this matter.
Respectfully,


Thomas M. Lachocki, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer

Tracynda Davis, M.P.H.
Director of Environmental Health

cc: I. Tenenbaum, CPSC; T. Moore, CPSC; N. Nord, CPSC; D. Lamborn, US House of Representatives

4775 Granby Circle • Colorado Springs, CO 80919-3131 719.540.9119 • 719.540.2787 (FAX) • www.nspf.org

Myth #4: The Pool Safety Council has no financial interest in secondary systems.

Just as health insurance companies lobby Congress and federal agencies for healthcare solutions that benefit their bottom line, it is not surprising that people who develop and sell back-up systems created an association to promote the use of their product. In fact, the founder of the Pool Safety Council, a group that has lobbied Congress and other organizations to require that all pools have back-up system technology, was the President of a back-up system manufacturer until only this past February.

The Pool Safety Council is promoting their petition claiming the CPSC “reversed their guidance of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB), removing important entrapment prevention requirements.” However, unblockable drain covers are the safest form of protection against entrapments. They are the only safeguard against all five types of entrapment and the only choice that prevents entrapment from occurring in the first place. If we had not found an unblockable drain cover to be sufficient, there would be no incentive for pool owners to install unblockable drain covers in addition to a costly back-up system, and thus pools would not have the most effective form of protection.

The petition goes on to say, “The reversal brings into question the influence representatives from the pool industry have in CPSC's decision-making process.” In fact, no group has pressured CPSC more than the Pool Safety Council. Speaking for myself, I have had no communication from any other pool representative except for those that have a financial interest in requiring back-up systems. I consider it a triumph of safety over special interests that despite all the pressure from those who have financial interest in requiring back-up systems, that the CPSC decided to adopt a new, safer technology. The Pool Safety Council lobbies for a tighter definition of unblockable drain because pools with unblockable drains are not required to buy their product!

The Commission is responsible for making decisions that promote safety and in this case, making sure that every public pool is as safe as possible. When we adopted the determination that an unblockable drain cover is equivalent to an unblockable drain, we made that decision based on safety.

For more information on the founder of the Pool Safety Council, click here: Pennington Leaves Vac-Alert

Have a safe weekend at the pool!

Myth #3: “The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGB Act) focuses on entrapment because that is the leading cause of drowning.”

Facts: Unfortunately, an average of 385 children lose their lives playing in the pool each year and the CPSC has made preventing these terrible tragedies one of our highest priorities.

Are entrapments the primary cause of these incidents? No. While entrapments are the main focus of the VGB Act, they are a very serious but rare type of drowning incident. Of the roughly 3,400 drowning deaths that occur each year in the United States, entrapments account for about 1 per year. Of the 12 entrapment deaths since 1999, only 5 occurred at public pools or spas. Since only public pools and spas are addressed by the VGB Act, over half of entrapments would not even have been prevented by the Act.

That is why I am so excited that the CPSC has launched “Pool Safely,” a national public education campaign designed to raise public awareness, support industry compliance, and improve safety at pools and spas. Pool Safely emphasizes the importance of alert adult supervision and swimming lessons for children as well as learning CPR, installing pool alarms, and placing gated barriers around pools. Through Pool Safely, we are able to educate the public about many water safety practices to reduce the risks associated with children in and around pools and spas – not just entrapments.

Conclusion: The VGB Act addresses a rare, but serious type of drowning incident and we have implemented the law to address this issue. But the Commission has gone further to raise awareness and promote drowning prevention through a national public education campaign because entrapments are not the leading, nor even a significant cause of drowning. It’s too bad that the Pool Safety Council has not done the same and has only dedicated one sentence on their entire website to prevent the other ninety nine percent of the child drowning cases that were not due to entrapment.

Stay tuned next week for more myth’s!

And check out http://www.poolsafely.gov/ to learn more simple steps to save lives!