Pool safety

You Don't Pay Lifeguards to Babysit... You Pay Them to Save Lives. Swimming Pool Safety Draft 9 15 2011 Newquist

Lifeguards
Lifeguards have a tremendous responsibility.
They save lives similar to fire fighters, and emergency medical professionals.
They try to prevent accidental drowning.
This PowerPoint starts with one public death and then many local saves this year.
This PowerPoint collects some of the recent DeKalb lifeguard saves that are often never recognized by the public.
Several of the drowning accidents used here are to prevent future occurrences.
Most photos are depictions of similar issues.

36-year-old mother of five - July 2011
Fall River, MA
Her body rested in the murk at the bottom of the public pool for two days.
Unacceptable cloudiness of the water.
Diver at the bottom after the accident the next day was not visible at the bottom.

Water Clarity
Tests for chlorine are not to determine clarity and visibility.
Need test to ensure bottom can be seen.

ANSI Appendix H "The deepest part of the pool shall be visible and sharply defined”.

ANSI/NSPI -1 Standard for Public Swimming Pools. 2003

These Deaths Were Preventable
These were not isolated cases.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is the sixth leading cause of death when it comes to unintentional injuries.
Workers have a right to a safe workplace.
In the swimming pool sector these are the largest risks among many:
Drowning
Hurt while diving
Slips and Falls
Heat and Sun
Chemicals
All of these are preventable

Injury Prevention Basics
Management Leadership
Employee Participation
Hazard Prevention and Control
Education and Training
Program Evaluation and Improvement
Communication and coordination on multi-employer sites
These principles are adopted and recognized by…
2100 VPP Companies
1600 SHARPs
1926.20, 1926.21
1910.119
ANSI Z9.10
OHSAS 18001
States AR, CA, LA, HI, MN, MT NV, NH, NY, OR, WA

Saves = Near Miss
In many companies, they track near misses to prevent future serious accidents and deaths.
These near misses are free lessons to change the outcome of the next event.

Swim Lesson Save - DeKalb 2010
Pool was overloaded with kids learning how to swim going back and forth using bubble floats.
At the five foot area of the pool, the six year old girl was bobbing up and down and swallowing water.
Off duty Lifeguard saved the girl when he noticed the signs of drowning.
Bubble floats are not life vests!
How many swimmers can one swim instructor handle?

Water Aerobics Rescue - DeKalb July 13, 2011
Water aerobic class was getting ready to start.
Open swim participants were getting out.
93 year old women lost footing in swallow end and went under.
Lifeguard slid in feet first and pulled her up.
She got her footing back with the lifeguard’s help and was taken out.

DeKalb Double Save July 20, 2011
7 year old who could not swim grabbed her older sister 11 years old who could swim and took both down.
Lifeguard saw this and rescued both.
Parent had left to use the bathroom for a minute.

DeKalb Save July 29, 2011
Mom, grandma, and kids ages 2, 3, & 6.
The six year old took off life vest to get ready to leave.
He then got excited and jumped into the pool.
He went right under.
Lifeguard at deep end did not see him in go into water that was over 6 inches his head.
His mom yelled and lifeguard saw him
and went in.
The kid was coughing when rescued,
but did not require CPR.
Mom had a toddler in hand and
grandma could not swim.

DeKalb Slide Save July 21, 2011
Parent takes flotation device off 2 year year old.
The two year goes on the slide in deep end.
The parent catches the kid, but goes under trying to keep her daughter up.
Off duty lifeguard dives in and grabs the kid. The mother is then able to come up.

Slide is in deep end. WHY?
Slide in Shallow end

DeKalb Slide Save January 2011
20 year old babysitter took 8 year old girl to slide.
The babysitter thought she could could catch and hold girl.
8 year old could not swim.
The babysitter went under after catching girl.

Lifeguard went in and took 8 year old to side of the pool.

The babysitter was able to come up then.

DeKalb Activity Center Save 2011
Father w/ 4 kids - 10, 8, 2, 1
Father leaves activity center w just 2 year old.
Activity center has toys w/ choking hazards.
One year old puts toys in his mouth.
Supervisor sees this and gets the toy out. She picks up small toys.
Supervisor sits with baby until dad gets back.
The activity camera does not cover area.
Toys must be age appropriate for kids.
Post age restriction.
Activity Center part of the pool complex.

Leonard Pope Saves 6 y.o. Child June 12, 2011
“ I saw Bryson going down in the water and I started screaming. Leonard was inside, and he came out of nowhere and dove into the water without any hesitation, cell phone in his pocket and all.”
“ When my head was going down into the water, and when my head was touching into the water, I got scared,” 6 year old Bryson said. “I felt Pope touching my waist, and then he picked me up, and I came up coughing. I didn’t feel so well.”
“ Pope was the only person at the party who knew how to swim so I don't want to think what would have happened if he weren't there.”
“ He saved my son's life, and I am so thankful that he was there for me and my child.”

RI Rescue July 12, 2011
East Providence Boys & Girls Club, RI
Joshua Adweysi, 11, of East Providence, had jumped into the pool with the other children and swum into the deep end.
Lifeguard Regan Jeffrey, 20, said the boy was swimming along the bottom when he seemed to panic and struggle. "The kids started freaking out."
Jeffrey said he dove in and pulled Joshua out of the water. Rogers said the lifeguard performed CPR on the boy, who was taken to Hasbro Children's Hospital.
The children were involved in a summer program run by the city's recreation department. Rogers said there were 61 children at the pool that day, supervised by five staff and two lifeguards.

12 y.o. Boy 'alert' after nearly drowning in Great Falls pool July 23, 2011
A mixture of adults and kids were using the pool at 7:45 p.m. when someone called out about an object under water.
"They jumped into action immediately," Reichelt said, explaining lifeguards are trained in what to do during an emergency. "They whistled three times. They jumped to the bottom of the pool. One called 9-1-1.”
The boy was continuing to receive treatment at Benefis Health System, according to a city of Great Falls news release Monday afternoon.
Great Falls police late Sunday had reported the boy was "alert" but still in intensive care at the hospital's east campus.
"Our lifeguards did start CPR," she said.

TX Apartment Pool Save July 25, 2011
Witnesses at the Winding Creek Apartment Homes saw the 7 y.o boy facedown in the pool and thought he was playing.
Arreguin, 30, a cable repair tech, said he was about to check on his next job when he heard screams.
The foster parent trained in CPR jumped over a gate into the pool area and saw that the boy was out of the water but wasn't breathing.
"His face was all blue. It was pretty bad," Arreguin said. "All I could picture was my own son — he's 6 and almost the same size — and that this was the worst thing that could happen.“
After he performed CPR for what "felt like forever," Arreguin said the boy started breathing again.

OK Reserve Deputy Helps Save Teen’s Life
“ There was no pulse. We started CPR. He was doing the chest compressions, and I was doing the mouth-to-mouth, the breathing portion,” Cramer said.
The young man was just an average 15-year-old boy.
“ He was not breathing.”
“ There was bloody foam
coming out of his mouth and
blood out of his eyes, nose
and ears,” he said.
“ We did about 20 cycles of
CPR before we got a pulse,”
Cramer said.
Once they got a pulse, they
rolled the boy to his side in a
recovery position.

Hazards to Public
The following slides are hazards to the public.

Camp Accident 2005
Four-year old Yoni Gottesman was a happy, athletic kid from Santa Barbara. In 2005, Yoni went to swim camp at the Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club in Goleta. He never came home.
"He's taken out into the middle of the pool, he's dunked 12 times, very aggressively, as you can see on the video, and then the camp counselor essentially swims away from him," Santa Barbara attorney Leila Noel tells KTLA News.
Family is awarded $2.3 million
in punitive damages.
Total damages in boy's
drowning top $16 million.
The club was unlicensed.
The lifeguards were not
trained in child C.P.R.
http://www.yonigottesman.co m/yonis_death_page2.htm Click on: Security Video

Running
Slips on same surface can result in loss of life or large $ claims.
Incident where grandfather chasing grandkid slipped and died.
One ASSE 2010 presentation said 20% of $250,000+ worker compensations claims were slips on same surface.

Suction Entrapment
Dangerous Game played by kids is "touch the drain".
Use stickers instead.
Coins often near drains.
No coins in pool.

ANSI 11.1 The suction outlets shall provide protection from body and hair entrapment. (Clothing, jewelry, etc.)

No Diving Shallow End
Numerous paralyzations
Chipped teeth
Concussions

ANSI 18.3.9 - Pools of depths of 5 feet or less shall display the No Diving symbol every 25 feet on the deck.
24.1 No Diving for shallow water signs shall be provided and posted.

Baby Pools
Attentiveness of Parent?
It is tough to gauge whether they are paying attention.
See ANSI standard for other requirements

Breath Holding Deaths July 2011
Bodhan Vitenko and Jonathan Proce, both 21, were pulled, seemingly lifeless, from the bottom of the Lyons pool yesterday morning at around 8:25 a.m. and immediately went into cardiac arrest.
Need someone watching at all time. Especially with two.

Need quick release mechanism.
Use shallow end.

Hypothermia
You don’t need to be experiencing sub-zero temperatures to encounter hypothermia and …
Your judgment will be impaired making you much more likely to experience an accident.
Hypothermia symptoms include:
Uncontrollable shivering
Weakness and loss of coordination
Confusion
Pale and cold skin
Drowsiness – especially in more severe stages
Slowed breathing or heart rate
If not treated promptly cardiac arrest, shock, and coma can develop.

Deep End Ability
Can the child swim?
Some cities use a Deep End Patch.
Qualifiers must be able to swim a set distance.
The patch is pinned/sewn onto the swimming pool uniform.

Horseplay
Last June, middle-school teacher Rachelle Friedman was preparing to get married. But then, a friend pushed her into a pool. Playfully. With no malice, Friedman says. She hit the bottom awkwardly, though, and the end result was that she was a quadriplegic.
No pushing people in the pool No throwing in the pool No dunking No chicken fight No alcohol

Hazard to Guards
The following slides are hazards to guards.

Lightning
Inversso was evacuating patrons from the 700-foot tall Key West Rapids ride about 11:50 a.m. on Saturday as a storm was about to sweep through the area, according to relatives.
When lightning struck the tower, Inversso was standing in about two or three feet of water, probably at a curve in the water slide where tube riders sometimes get stuck, relatives said.
Use the weather reports to track lightning and severe weather. Establish rules that give plenty of time to evacuate the pool and provide shelter.

Suction Entrapment
Must have policy when staff near drain.

Equipment must always be guarded or locked out. No exceptions.
Lockout. De-energize.
OSHA rule is 1910.147.

Heat and Sun
Heat exhaustion possible at indoor pools.
Cool room is needed.

Use sunscreen to avoid skin cancer.

Need to be hydrated with fluids.
Electrolyte replacement is necessary.

Signs of Drowning
Look for signs of drowning when swimmers are in the water:
Head low in the water, mouth at water level
Head tilted back with mouth open
Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
Eyes closed
Hair over forehead or eyes
Not using legs – Vertical
Hyperventilating or gasping
Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
Trying to roll over on the back

Conflict Resolution
DeKalb – 1/16/11
The pool had Open Swim vs. lap lanes
Customer did not know the rules of staying with young kids.
Parent brought kids and wanted to leave.
The kids couldn’t swim.
The parent argued with life guard about the rule in threatening manner.
“ You are here to serve me!"
Lap laners have become territorial in using “their” lane.

Distractions
Don't disturb the lifeguard.
Guards cannot watch swimmers and answer questions.
There needs to be a protocol for relieving guards.
Guards going off duty must hands off responsibilities.
There must be a set of eyes on swimmers at all times.
Guards need to see ladder while climbing down lest they slip.

Electrical
GFCI outlets
No extension cords
Periodic tests
Lockout
7/24/11
Six people suffered electrical shocks Friday night in a private swimming pool in Granite City according to police.
A maintenance man was working near the pool about 8:30 p.m. in the 4700 block of Danielle Court.

Shift length?
Some guards are working 10-12 hour days.
How much is too much?

Chemical
PPE hazard analysis is required 1910.132.
Train workers 1910.1200(h).
No bleach and acids. Separated in storage also.
Teenagers supervising teens using chemicals?
Must get pool stains out so what is safe to use?
Note: Cloth respirator is not acceptable for chemicals.

Sunglasses
Glare affects ability to see pool bottom.
No napping behind shades.

Eyes need a rest from watching. Eye fatique.

Polarized lenses allow more visibility.

Industry Standards
ANSI/NSPI -1 Standard for Public Swimming Pools. 2003
www.nspi.org

Ratio of guards to swimmers
What is the maximum capacity?

Consider Age mix vs. length of shift.

Are their more strong swimmers or weak swimmers?

Follow 10/20 rule. lifeguard who spots someone in trouble needs to respond in 10 second and reach the person in 20 seconds

Maximum User Load for the Pool
See ANSI std.

User load is 8 to 15 sq. ft. per user in shallow depending on deck area.

Deep end is 10-20 sq. ft. per user depending on deck area.

Diving Boards
One on the board at a time.

Kids get dared to jump off the board though they may not be able to swim.

Panic drags rescuer, friend, or lifeguard down.

ANSI 6.6 The Manufacturer shall specify the water envelope for its product. (includes depth needed)
ANSI 7.2.5.2 The label indicating the diving envelope shall by permanently affixed to the diving equipment. The maximum weight of the diving board user shall also be labeled.
ANSI 7.2.5.6 Guardrails on boards 1 meter and higher.

Circulation System
8.1.1 Must turnover the entire pool water supply to 1.5 x average depth to a maximum of six hours.

5 feet deep on average x 1.5 = 7.5 hours. But max is 6 hours so this is used.

8.4.1 Flow measuring device is required

15.4.1.1 Public access to to pool temperature controls is not allowed.
18.5.3 Pump Shutoff Switch sign is required to be posted.

Lighting
13.2 Sufficent illuminations shall be provided to all portions of the pool.

13.2.1 Overhead lighting 3 ft-candles
13.2.2 Underwaterwater 5.4 watts/sqft of pool area
13.3 No underwater if 15 foot candles over head lighting provided.

Pool Depth Marking and Separation
18.2.1 Where pools exceed 6 feet, 4 inches, a wide contrasting color band extending down from the waterline tile, down across the wall, across the floor, and up the opposing wall to the waterline shall be located at the 5 foot water depth point.

A rope and float line shall be located 1-2 feet on the shallow side of that band.

18.3.1 Depth of water in feet shall be plainly marked on the vertical pool wall at or above the water line
18.3.3 Depth of water in feet shall be plainly marked at the maximum and minimum water depths and at all points of slope change.

Rescue Equipment
ANSI 18.5.1 Lifesaving equipment equipment shall be on hand and conspicious. Includes:

18.5.1
Body hook that is 12 feet or longer

18.5.1.2
1/4 inch diameter throwing rope with 15 inch ring buoy or equivalent. Rope length shall be 1.5x than the max width of the pool

18.5.1.3
First Aid kit meeting OSHA requirements.

Glass and Food
21.1.1 Food and beverages must be in unbreakable containers.

21.1.2 Trash containers shall be provided.

Other
See your state pool regulations.

22.2 Lifeguards shall be equipped w a rescue tube and attired so that they are readily identifiable as members of the lifeguarding staff.
22.2.6 An emergency action plan is required.

Chemical Operation
ANSI specify limits on chemicals in pool

Free Chlorine maximum is 10 ppm. Minimum is 1.0 ppm. Ideal is 2.0-4.0 ppm.

See ANSI for other chemicals, alkanlinity, total dissolved solids, calcium hardness, algae, and bacteria.

Ph is maximum is 7.8. Minimum is 7.2. Ideal is 7.4-7.6.

Water Temperature is maximum is 104F. Minimum is not specified. Ideal is 78F-82F.

Slides
Consider putting slides in the shallow end like Hopkins Park (DeKalb) and Sycamore IL Pools. Must meet Consumer Product Safety Commission requirements of 16 CFR 1207.

(e) Lubrication. Swimming pool slides shall either be equipped with a method of lubrication (for example, water) or have a similar coefficient of friction so that the slider has a smooth, continuous slide.
(f)(5) Slide geometry. Swimming pool slide runways shall have a smooth transition section and have geometry such that the path of the center of gravity of the slider is not more than ±10° from the horizontal at the center of gravity's exit off the slide and such that the slider's angle of attack shall be at least +15° when the slider's feet leave the slide.

One Meter Diving Board
The best place to look for these regulations is in U.S.A. Diving Safety Training Manual. Manufacturer's recomendations can be used, but if shorter depth is specified, then analysis of risk is necessary. Most of the dimensions are measured from a reference point, called the "plummet" which is the center front end of the diving board, in the position where it will be installed.

For a 1M installation of a 16' diving board, the water depth at plummet must be at least 11.2 feet deep. The water depth 16.4 feet ahead of the plummet must be at least 10.8 feet deep.

Training
Need to have inservices and training simulations on a frequent basis.
A life guard test every six months administered by another guard is not adequate.

ANSI 22.2.2 Lifeguards must be lifeguard and CPR certified.

22.1 Certified pool operator is required.

22.2.1 a CPR certified person shall be on the premise.
Lifeguards must have training of worst case scenario
- running
- suction
- dunking
lack of water clarity

Further
This was prepared as a collaborative effort to be used as a preliminary aid for anyone in the Pool Safety field by Chris Newquist.
These are just some the issues. A comprehensive job hazard analysis should be conducted for any pool where someone can get hurt.
This is not an official OSHA publication. Those will be on the OSHA.gov website.
Email [email_address] if you see errors.
I want to thank John Newquist (johnanewquist@gmail.com), Alex Newquist, Nancy Mugavero, Lisa Sciolaro, Pamela Huck, and Janet S. for all their assistance in answering questions and providing insight to the many hazards in this sector.

RipCurrents
+ Don't fight the current
+ Swim out of the current, then to shore
+ If you can't escape, float or tread water
+ If you need help, call or wave for assistance
Consider posting at your workplace, and educate children in your arm's reach. It is in English and Spanish. Every year we have drownings on Lake Michigan due to rip currents.
Many bodies of water produce rip currents. You cant see them, but with the proper technique you can swim out of them.
KNOW IT. SHARE IT.
www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov
www.usla.org

Other Deaths
Hundreds drown in public pools.
Rivers and Lake kill hundreds more.
Lake Michigan has 60+ drowning deaths in 2011.

July 18, 2011
Authorities say a 24-year-old man drowned in the city swimming pool in the eastern South Dakota community of Clark.
Clark County Sheriff Rob McGraw says 24-year-old Jose Barajas jumped into the pool on Monday night and didn’t resurface.
Lifeguards brought him out and attempted to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hotel Pools
July 4, 2011 Daytona Beach Shores police Sgt. Mike Fowler described as a "sad story on a Fourth of July," occurred at 12:15 p.m. at the Oceanside Inn pool at 1909 South Atlantic Ave.
The boy was with several family members at the pool. A video surveillance recording reviewed by investigators showed there were numerous people in the pool but that the 2 year old child went unnoticed underwater for nine minutes, Fowler said.

June 24, 2011
Friday started as a day of fun for six year old Keegan Adkins.
“ I was there at the country club pool, turned around, got another seat and he was gone. It happened in a matter of seconds," Keegan's mother said.
Keegan was pulled from the bottom of the pool, was given CPR and was rushed to Kosair Children's Hospital, but died on Saturday.
"You've got to pick out that one person in the crowd that's having trouble, and sometimes, that's very difficult," Barnett, the safety director for the pool service which provides 240 lifeguards for 42 pool in the area said.
Woodhaven Country Club had trained lifeguards on duty in the 75 foot pool at the time of the incident, but the country club's management didn’t say how many lifeguards were working that Friday afternoon.
Barnett says parents and others should also remain attentive. “The concerns of pool safety is everybody's responsibility, not just the lifeguards, it's everybody. When you come through that door, everybody should have a hand in this,“
http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Investigation-continues-after-6-year-old-boy-drowns-in-country-club-pool-124618604.html

July 25, 2011
A 6-year-old boy who jumped into a swimming pool at an amusement park in eastern Pennsylvania did not resurface and later died.
George S. Roberts III, of Wilkes-Barre, was found under water on Wednesday afternoon at Knoebels (pronounced kuh-NO'-bulz) Amusement Resort in Elysburg, police said.
Lifeguards tried to resuscitate him but Roberts later died at a nearby hospital

Tot drowns in Osage pool July 24, 2011
As of Monday afternoon, authorities hadn't determined how Ryan Detmering of Fort Dodge got into the Lazy River feature at the Cedar River Complex pool. He was found about 2:40 p.m., facedown in 3½ feet of water.
Regulations call for one lifeguard for the 35 swimmers on hand, but the pool had two on duty when the boy was discovered by a 14-year-old lifeguard trainee.
Lifeguards tried to resuscitate the boy, who was declared dead at a local hospital an hour later.

Kentucky River July 6, 2011
– Three men from the same family died after they were swept away by the rain-swollen current during a Fourth of July outing on the Middle Fork

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