www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
AllergyFree OCT 2011 SPN
69
The independent Health Protection Agency claimed this summer that it has received the highest level of public concern about allergies from swimming in public pools – skin rashes, red eyes, itchy skin and asthma which they fear might be caused by a reaction to chemicals in the water. Chlorine can’t be blamed for everything but consumer demand is now leading the way for the use of pool treatments which limit allergic reactions
By Alan Lewis D
oes exposure to swimming pool chemicals like chlorine result in increased allergy problems for swimmers?
We may soon have a better idea of the weight of evidence one way or another as controlled tests in Edinburgh, France and Spain on both the way the body reacts to chlorine in some people and how effective alternative treatments get ready to be published.
Four research documents are expected in the next few months after research carried out this spring and summer, but in the meantime swimmers are voting with their feet. One commercial pool in Birmingham lost six swimming classes in August after swimmers complained of skin reactions and stinging eyes. A south London pool closed for three days after wrong chlorine dosage caused allergic reactions to a summer swim party. The danger is that chlorine gets labelled as being a problem chemical. Used properly and carefully it remains an effective deterrent against pool water infection.
The Health Protection Agency, the
independent organisation charged with looking at the UK’s health issues, says it has been approached by consumers concerned not about how effective chlorine might be but how it might either cause allergic reactions or at least cause existing symptoms to get worse. One formal research report from Belgium follows on from the controversial study of Alfred Bernard, a toxicologist who found children who swam for the equivalent of one hour a week in an outdoor pool with chlorine were five times more likely to have asthma symptoms. Those with other propensities for allergic reactions were 10 times more likely to have increased lung problems.
There have been studies showing a higher incidence of hay fever allergies in adults among those that swam while they were younger. The study group used interviews and questionnaires
to gather the medical and swimming pool attendance history of over 2,500 adults. The data revealed a significant correlation between swimming in swimming pools and reported occurrences of hay fever allergy problems. The study concluded that exposure to chemicals in swimming pools was the likely culprit. One set of findings found why swimmers were more prone to asthma and other breathing problems than athletes in other sports. “Our results show, indeed, that nitrogen trichloride (produced by chlorine) is a cause of occupational asthma in indoor swimming pool workers like lifeguards and swim instructors,” says Dr K Thickett of the Occupational Lung Diseases Unit at the Birmingham Heartlands Hospital. The problem isn’t the chlorine, but what chlorine turns into when combined with organics. The organics are contributed by bathers in the pool in the form of sweat, dander, urine and other organics. The chlorine reacts with the organics and produces nitrogen trichloride, aldehydes, halogenated hydrocarbons, chloroform, trihalomethanes and chloramines. The view about the asthma research remains sceptical and the advice of PWTAG (Pool Water Treatment Advisory Group) is that with so called ‘alternative treatments’, a residual oxidising disinfectant should always be present in the water as well.
Domestic and commercial pool owners and managers face a choice of standard chlorine based products or a growing range of chemical free products, some of which are considered to offer a similar standard of water quality. The ongoing research throughout the world but particularly in Europe, is set to increase with the information pool owners have at their fingertips to make a better qualified decision on their options.
MORE DISTRIBUTORS ARE
APPROACHING US SAY POOLSAN DIRECT One leading chlorine alternative is PoolSan which
works on the copper silver principle but contains gold, aluminum and zinc produced in manufacturing and contained in liquid. Says Celina Brown of PoolSan Direct: “There’s a growing interest in these products, of that there’s no doubt. Just this month we have had three companies who want to look at distributing PoolSan. People are going into retail outlets and asking more and more about ways to limit or move away from chlorine.”
PoolSan has become popular with leading hotels and health clubs in their pools and spas. It is an easily dosed, chlorine free liquid biocide that is less hazardous and more sustainable than chlorine. PoolSan is described as a saturated complex ionic aqueous solution containing copper, silver, zinc, aluminium, gold, manganese, nitrogen and iron, a combination which eliminates the need for chlorine, algaecides and flocculants. These ions bring about a change in the enzyme processes of algae and bacteria, breaking down their DNA structure and cell walls. Treated water has no smell or taste and is a revelation for swimmers that are used to traditional chlorinated pools. The water feels gentler on the skin than chlorinated water and does not rot costumes or sting eyes. PoolSan can save money and time – the water doesn’t damage pool plant equipment or the building like chlorinated water can. Injectors don’t clog and pumps last longer too. The easy to operate PoolSan dosing system doesn’t need probes or a maintenance contract. Packaging is reduced and PoolSan is safe to handle and store. As the only totally chlorine free product in use in commercial pools and spas the company operates with the full support of local environmental health officers, the only totally chlorine free product that does this.
ALIGATOR STRESSES ITS BENEFITS TO ALLERGY SUFFERERS
Aligator‘s Swimming Pool Water Purification System makes a specific point of stressing its benefits to allergy sufferers.
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