Pool & Spa Scene: NEWS
Public Enquiry Call Following Hot Tub Deaths
Rules on displaying hot tubs in shops and public places should be reviewed, according to a Health Protection Agency (HPA) report into a fatal outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. Meanwhile, the British and Irish Hot Tub Association (BISHTA) is being urged to act, in partnership with Trading Standards, to cut the risk of further outbreaks. The HPA report said a hot tub on display at JTF Warehouse in Stoke-on-Trent was the probable source of last year’s outbreak. As reported in previous issues of Pool & Spa Scene magazine, two men, Richard Griffi n, 64, and 79-year old William Hammersley, both died and 19 other people caught the disease. The HPA stressed the potential health risk of hot tubs posed that are not properly maintained: “This was a signifi cant outbreak and has raised questions on the acceptability of operating spa pools (also known as whirl pools and hot tubs) in public places where the general population has access,” the report states.
“Spa pools are known to pose a risk of Legionella if water systems are not rigorously maintained, properly managed and subject to regular chemical controls.
“Operating spa pools on display in indoor spaces, even if not used for bathing, have been previously shown to be the cause of outbreaks in other countries,” the report CONTINUED.
LEGAL MATTERS Law fi rm Irwin Mitchell is taking legal action on behalf of the families of two men who died, as well as 16 other people who caught the disease. The solicitors are calling for a public inquiry into the outbreak. It is unclear whether any charges of corporate manslaughter will be made.
The case sent shock waves through the hot tub industry that stands to be damaged en masse by the negative publicity. “I agree with the lawyers regarding a public enquiry as I fear, if this incident is allowed to be brushed under the carpet, then more outbreaks will happen again and again,” commented James Lee of Water Treatment Products.
PREVIOUS INCIDENTS
A similar case involving an allegedly contaminated hot tub on display at the Long Acres Garden Centre in Surrey was blamed for at least one fatality in the early 2000s.
In March 1999, a Legionnaires’ outbreak in the Netherlands occurred during the Westfriese Flora fl ower exhibition in Bovenkarspel. The source of the bacteria was a hot tub in the exhibition area. Although statistical evidence varies, Wikipedia reports that 318 people became ill and at least 32 people died. There is a possibility that more people died but these people were buried before the Legionella infection was recognised. In 2011, 200 people fell ill from a Legionnaires’ outbreak believed to have been caused by a contaminated hot tub at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. “I think BISHTA and Trading Standards have to take the lead on this and police the industry,” says Lee.
“There are increasingly more companies selling swimming pool and hot tub products with people who really don’t have the fi rst idea even on basic water chemistry,” he added. “It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect anyone selling hot tubs or swimming pools to have also undertaken basic water chemistry training and evidence to that effect to placed prominently within their premises.”
ABOVE: The Health Protection Agency is calling for rules on displaying hot tubs to be reviewed following two tragic deaths.
Stephen Crabb, a founder member of BISHTA expressed his sympathies to the families affected by the outbreak. He said: “BISHTA was initially set up in an effort to try to prevent these tragic circumstances occurring by requiring members to implement a safe spa and hot tub water testing programme in showrooms, exhibitions and in any location where spas and hot tubs are run wet. “In 2006, I was personally involved, as a committee member of
BISHTA, in the writing of the HSE/HPA’s ‘Management of Spa Pools’ about controlling the risk of infection,” Stephen continues. “The rules for displaying hot tubs in shops and public places should be those that are recommended by BISHTA and the HPA’s ‘Management of Spa Pools’,” adds Stephen.
“If these simple rules were followed tragic circumstances like these would be avoided.
“There has never been an outbreak of Legionnaires in a BISHTA members’ showroom.”
Should the hot tub industry be licensed to prevent this type of outbreak? Should BISHTA membership be compulsory?
Have your say on this and other stories at
www.poolandspascene.com
Pool & Spa Scene: NEWS 9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100