It’s Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, meaning no better time to talk about air quality in indoor pool facilities and the effect on swimmers and staff.
In simple terms, it’s that pool smell we all recognize the second we walk into an indoor area with a pool, be it a hotel, recreation center, school or home. The odor is caused when chlorine interacts with organic material in the pool — sweat, lotion, dirt, and other unpleasant contaminants we won’t mention here — and creates disinfection byproducts (also called chloramines).
While disinfection byproducts cause your red eyes and itchy skin, they also trigger asthma and allergies. For example, a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology shows an increased rate of asthma in Olympic swimmers when compared to other Olympic athletes. Another study published in the American Journal of Public Health investigated the instance of lifeguard lung in lifeguards and aquatics staff.
How can you help solve this problem? Chlorine (or bromine) is required by code in commercial pools for a reason because without it, pools would be putting swimmers at risk. However, the negative byproducts of chlorine put swimmer and staff health at risk in a different, and potentially just as harmful, way. Furthermore, chlorine doesn’t always protect swimmers from some common recreational water illnesses like Cryptosporidium parvum.
Today they are new types of pool systems for commercial pools to choose from, but which really solve the problem of disinfection byproducts?
Ozone? No, it still requires chlorine.
UV? No, it still requires chlorine and can increase chlorine use.
Salt? No, because it generates chlorine.
Advanced oxidation? Clear Comfort’s hydroxyl-based advanced oxidation technology enables commercial pools to reduce chlorine use by as much as 70 percent and is proven to decrease disinfection byproducts by as much as 90 percent+.
For Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month consider bringing a new system to your pool that offers you, your staff and your swimmers the ability to breathe freely.
