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SPN JUN 2010 PoolSafety
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
The Coverstar from Certikin remains at the forefront of the safety cover market
THE UK LAW JUST DEMANDS PUBLIC SAFETY
UK law says that the public
shouldn’t be exposed to any health and safety risks when they go to a swimming pool. There are no specific health and safety regulations governing swimming pools. Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires that ‘the public is not exposed to risks to health and safety’. This principle is to prevent exposure to risk so far as is reasonably practicable. This does not mean operators should incur disproportionate costs in implementing measures that anticipate relatively remote risks. Safety in commercial pools is therefore seen as a public right. For private pool owners it’s a question of weighing up the risk and providing adequate safety measures.“ HSG179 confirms that: “The law does not prescribe what control measures would be reasonably practicable in each and every case. That is a judgement that has to be made by individual operators on the basis of the particular risks, which they are best placed to assess.”
POOL SAFETY STILL REMAINS BOTH A THREAT AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SPECIALIST TRADE. SUGGESTED LONG TERM CHANGES TO THE UK’S POOL SAFETY LAWS, WHICH CURRENTLY LACK THE SEVERITY AND RESTRICTIONS SEEN IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD, WILL STILL BE CONSIDERED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SALES. SUCH IS THE CONCERN OF THE PUBLIC TO ENSURE TOTAL SAFETY IN AND AROUND THE POOL THAT THE MARKET FOR SAFETY PRODUCTS LOOKS SET TO CONTINUE TO GROW
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very year the threat of more deaths by children drowning hangs over the specialist pool trade. A recent independent survey said it was a ‘significant deterrent’ in some consumers making the final decision to investment. Clearly new and potential pool owners will always be concerned about the implications of providing absolute safety in and around the pool for their families. It is however a worldwide problem. Last year the number of deaths by drowning in France, Germany, the United States, South Africa and Australia all increased year on year – the accidents given high levels of coverage in the media. In the United States the specialist industry was turned upside down when two and a half years ago an Energy Bill was signed into law, and with it, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act came into being. The piece of legislation was the most significant change to pool safety ever seen.
The act was named after the
granddaughter of US Secretary of State James A. Baker III, who died by suction entrapment in a family spa during a birthday party. There have been over 150 entrapment related injuries and deaths over the last two decades in the US and nearly all of them happened because a pool or spa was not maintained to a safe standard. In many cases, the family was aware that the pool or spa drain cover was broken or missing and yet children were allowed to use the pool. Safety measures in and around the UK’s swimming pools have been high on the specialist trade’s agenda for decades. Stricter and more formal laws governing safety around swimming pools are likely to make a big impact in the next few years. An already strong business in safety pool covers in the UK is likely to be enhanced as the European Union demands to bring more international type regulations for better child safety and anti- entrapment laws are adopted. There has already been one suggestion that European law is
moving toward Britain having to follow, for example, France where safety covers are a legal requirement.
Any such move which will only get UK regulations on a comparable level with pool safety laws in Australia, the United States and South Africa where obligatory fencing, security systems on private pools and a legal requirement for an authorised standard pool cover would be seen as a potential boost for the specialist trade. Laws which have succeeded and been accepted in France and Spain could be introduced into the UK without too much hindrance. Safety is now being seen as a truly international requirement. France has, since 2004, adopted tough safety measures. The changes to French Law mean that all privately owned swimming pools must now have a safety device such as pool cover in place that conforms to the French standards system AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation).
The law is enforced by a fine of
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