www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
ChlorineFree JUN 2010 SPN
51
NON-CHLORINE
IS THERE CHANGE IN THE AIR?
THE DEMAND FOR PRODUCTS NEEDED TO PROVIDE CLEAR, SAFE BACTERIA-FREE WATER TO SWIM IN HAS NEVER BEEN MORE DEBATED. RESEARCH CONTINUES TO RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT CHLORINE WHICH REMAINS THE SYSTEM OF CHOICE FOR MOST POOLS AND THE ONE BACKED BY EXPERTS AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS. CONSUMERS SEEM TO WANT DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND THE INCREASED POPULARITY OF CHLORINE FREE ALTERNATIVES AND UV SYSTEMS IS APPLYING PRESSURE ON TRADITIONAL VIEWS. IT IS ALSO STARTING TO ENGAGE MANUFACTURERS WHO ARE LOOKING TO ENTER NEW NON-CHLORINE AND LOW CHORINE PRODUCTS INTO WHAT MIGHT BECOME A CONSUMER LED DEMAND
T
he next 12 months could see a fundamental change of attitude in the role non-chlorine and low chlorine products play in swimming pool water
treatment in the UK.
More high usage pools are trialling chorine free products than ever before – most successfully. In Denmark, Norway, Spain and the United States there’s more examples of chlorine being replaced in public pools and spas. Also in the United States at least 10 states are looking into or testing non-chlorine products and in April the Pure Water Association, an American consumer group called for the pool trade to ‘get its act together‘ on reducing chlorine in swimming pools.
There are also now efforts to try and lay down a protocol for non-chlorine products to be properly tested – not just in the UK or Europe but on a worldwide basis. Manufacturers of such chlorine free products will increasingly be asked to prove their effectiveness against the protocol. The case for at least finding out if non- chlorine alternatives are a viable alternative is growing. The levels of interest in chlorine alternatives is set against the background of commercial pool owners reporting they are struggling to balance out the local authority demands of trying to ensure infection free water with criticism from the public that too much chlorine is being used.
towards a commitment to the environment and it is clear they come up against a reaction from the public who don’t like the smell and sometimes cloudy water from chlorine often not being used properly.”
One consultant in the UK market told us: “The official line is still that it is safety first when it comes to the advice we give out. We cannot go against the advice of the PWTAG experts and it would be wrong to ignore the threat of Legionella and the view of the Health & Safety Executive that deaths from this bacterium could end in prosecution. “There are commercial pools and hotel groups asking us if there is a viable chlorine alternative. They are being serious in looking
He added: “If non-chlorine products work we need the evidence. It can’t be anecdotal – the stakes are too high. The process of getting protocols in place and getting proper laboratory trials in place is taking too long. I doubt whether the manufacturers will be prepared to invest in the proper laboratory tests. In a way it is working in favour of the status quo. There are people in the industry who want to see some changes but at the moment it isn’t happening.” He said the next 12 months could see such changes being forced on the industry. The market also needs to separate the small pool domestic user from the commercial pool operator. One view is that the domestic pool owner is still not educated about chlorine alternatives and through the advice of pool suppliers is always pushed towards traditional chlorine products.
In commercial markets, where awareness is greater and up against public criticism on chlorine side effects, users have numerous options to reduce organic contamination, that may in turn react with chlorine to create unhelpful by-products, including pre-swim showering, continuous flocculation of filters for organic removal and treatments such as Ozone and UV.
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