National Swimming Pool Safety Standards & Barriers
An estimated 200 children under age 5 drown every year in residential swimming pools. Two thousand more visit emergency rooms after pool-related accidents. Most of these children were supervised when the incident occurred, and 75 percent of them were missing for less than 5 minutes before being discovered in the pool. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 regulates pool drain safety, but there are no nationwide laws regulating pool safety barrier standards. In 2007, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) released a Model Barrier Code as a reference for writing swimming pool safety legislation. As of this writing in August 2009, California is the only state to mandate the implementation of all CPSC's standards. Does this Spark an idea?
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Types of Barriers
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The CPSC defines six kinds of safety barriers. Walls or permanent fences may enclose all or part of the pool area. Some pool covers are ASTM-approved safety barriers. Alarms that sound when a child opens a door or window keep a toddler from wandering to the pool unsupervised. Self-closing latches keep children from opening doors or windows. A temporary mesh barrier separates the pool from the yard or other playing spaces. Finally, a pool alarm could be installed to detect when a child unexpectedly enters the water.
Fences
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An effective fence prevents a child from going over, under or through it. Fences should be 48 inches tall when measured from the outside (non-pool side). Openings under the fence or between vertical slats should not exceed 4 inches, and any holes or cut-outs should be less than 1-3/4 inches in diameter. For a more comprehensive list of specifications, see the CPSC's full Safety Barrier Guidelines in the References section.
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Latches
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Gate latches should be at least 3 inches below the top of the pool side of the fence to prevent a child from reaching over to open it. Latches on the outside of the fence must be 54 inches off the ground. Within 18 inches of the latch, there should be no openings larger than ½ inch in diameter that a child could reach through. All gates should open away from the pool and be self-latching so they cannot carelessly be left open.
Alarms
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Install alarms meeting the requirements of UL 2017 General-Purpose Signaling Devices and Systems, Section 77 on all doors and windows with direct access to the pool. The alarm should sound within 7 seconds of a child opening the door and ring continuously for at least 30 seconds. The alarm's tone should be loud and different from the house's doorbells, phones, smoke detectors and other ambient sounds. Install automatically resetting deactivation switches at least 54" from the floor.
Other Considerations
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Pool covers used as a safety barrier must be motorized and comply with ASTM F1346-91 labeling requirements. Ladders or stairs to above ground pools should either be removable or have a childproof barrier around them. Construct fences and barriers away from trees or furniture that a child could climb to get over the barrier.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jerry Schiller: Dreamstime.com
