52
SPN JUN 2010 ChlorineFree
THE ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST CHLORINE V NON-CHLORINE
CHLORINE
• Chemicals have proven results.
• Chlorine kills bacteria quickly and is effective at low concentrations.
• Non-chlorine alternatives have not been tested and there remains only anecdotal evidence the products work.
• There are very few dangers when chlorine is used correctly.
• The Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group, an independent organisation aimed at raising standards in the quality and treatment of swimming pool water is clear that there must be an oxidising residual disinfectant in pool water. It does not endorse non-chlorine products.
• SPATA and BISHTA take the official line that the residual disinfectant is chlorine or bromine based products or a Polymeric biguanide.
NON-CHLORINE
• There is a growing public interest
and enthusiasm for non-chlorine and less chlorine in pools.
• A number of countries including Norway, Demark and the US have trialled non chorine products successfully in pools.
• Besides sometimes causing allergic reactions, chlorine can react with organic material. It forms chloramines which raise the odour levels.
• In the UK successful and high profile trials of pools trying chlorine-free products are growing.
• Some studies have suggested that children may be more likely to develop asthma if they swim regularly in chlorinated pools.
A recent local authority report has put new pressure on pool managers. It urges all local authority pools to take extra care during the increased attendances linked with the summer to avoid infections bringing bad publicity, closing pools or even sparking off legal action. It also urges that as a precaution much more stringent action is needed to ensure all swimmers shower before and after taking to the pool.
The official trade view on chlorine alternatives has remained constant. It is that chlorine free products have to prove themselves in the
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SUREX / VOXSAN A KEY NON-CHLORINE ALTERNATIVE
Surex / Voxsan are specialists in inorganic non-chlorine disinfection chemicals and equipment which can be safely recycled with energy savings.
The brand is the oldest pool spa chemical supplier in the EEC with a history going back over 80 years.
Given the international concerns covering the application of organic compounds which cover chlorine, bromine and other base compounds the company stresses its own chlorine free compound. The business is an independent family business based in Biggin Hill, Kent.
Says the company: ”There are certain concerns in the pool industry that state their materials are ‘chlorine free’ whilst having some 1 to 2 mgl of chlorine.
Others comment on being ‘chlorine free’
market place and against industry protocol. The view of the SPATA technical review committee is that a residual oxidising disinfectant should always be present in the water as well. In the case of SPATA and BISHTA Standards, a residual disinfectant is chlorine or bromine based products or a Polymeric biguanide. The pace for change may be getting faster in other parts of Europe. The Danish pool trade has reported that in 2010 a record number of public pools will move to low chlorine or no chlorine alternatives on the back of consumer demand.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health recently approved PoolSan as a complete replacement for chlorine in public pools and spas. PoolSan uses a developed form of the traditional ionisation process containing copper, zinc, gold, aluminium and silver ions which eliminate the need for chlorine. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health ‘report confirmed: ”PoolSan liquid is an acid blend of copper, zinc, aluminium, silver and gold ions. The disinfective effect of silver and copper ions in combination has been previously well documented but these two alone would not be strong enough to be used as disinfection media in public pools, as required by the rules and regulations being used for public pools. The proportions of copper and silver ions in PoolSan is such that the effect of silver would be very small if the disinfection effect relied only on those two components. In order to achieve maximum effect PoolSan must be used together with PoolSan Regenerator. This is a very strong oxidiser which in addition to oxidising organic
“We should be paying more attention to the chemicals we put in water and we should be looking for other alternatives to chlorination. A number of safe, non-toxic options exist”
marketing materials that contain an algicide copper based additive that contain copper sulphate.
“Inorganic compounds marketed materials such as hydrogen peroxide, (which incidentally is a 5.1 oxidising material) at 35% strength which is contray to EEC standards being 30% and unstable with very little shelf life, if any, and dangerous. Surex 002 Oxysure has been available for over 20 years as a chlorine free compound which can be applied to above-ground and in-ground pools and spas.
i FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
F SUREX / VOXSAN
( 0845 260 0555
:
www.surexeco.com
material in the pool water will also oxidise the copper and silver. It is our opinion, based upon the documentation provided, that PoolSan together with PoolSan Regenerator will together accomplish the same function in public pools as chlorine to both disinfect and oxidise the organic pollution.” Celina Brown of PoolSan Direct, the commercial distributor for PoolSan in the UK said: “The standard bacterial testing in Norway is more stringent than the UK – for example, they also test as standard for mycobacterium which is not yet done here. “PoolSan enables commercial pool operators to remove chlorine totally from their pools and spas. Easy to handle, store and dose, PoolSan treated water is tasteless, odourless, non-corrosive and gentle on the skin. Conversion to PoolSan is simple and low cost, especially when compared with UV or ozone, alternatives that still require chlorine. As commercial pool operators look to improve the quality and safety of their sites and water, they choose PoolSan in preference to chlorine, secure in the knowledge it is effective and safe.
“Expert opinion on the future of chlorine is divided at present. Whilst some still feel there is no safe alternative to chlorine, there are others who feel very differently. “The advocates of our product come from outside the chlorine industry and its dependants.
“We work with Environmental Health Enforcement Officers who inspect and test chlorine-free PoolSan pools and spas in their boroughs. These are people who have actual experience of what what can be done without any chlorine and these are people who support us.
“If our pools and spas were not able to achieve the standards of cleanliness required for public pools they would not be allowed to remain open. But they continue to operate and they continue to increase in number, facts which continue to demonstrate very clearly there is a safe, effective alternative to chorine, a chemical which may one day be proved beyond doubt to be as dangerous to our health as cigarette smoke.
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