POOL & SPA INDUSTRY
EU Swimming Pool Legislation
IN THE FIRST OF A TWO PART ARTICLE, PETER LANG OUTLINES THE RELEVANCE OF EUROPEAN STANDARDS FOR THE POOL AND SPA INDUSTRY
S
ome years ago I was speaking at the German Pool Show, aquanale in Cologne, and made the comment that in the UK there were virtually no Laws relating directly to swimming pools. A German colleague afterwards said to me – “You are lucky, in Germany we have too many!”
For the last three or four years, SPATA has been directly involved with CEN (the Centre for European Normalisation) on behalf of the British Standards Institution (BSI). CEN’s aim is to standardise norms (standards, not laws) throughout the Member States and the work is primarily based on ‘Safety’. The reason for this involvement from SPATA (and soon to be BISHTA for domestic spa and hot tub standards) came from the participation of the BSPF with the European Union of Pool and Spa Associations (EUSA) which was founded in 2003 and from SPATA’s involvement with BSI. The BSPF has been involved since EUSA’s inception and it currently has a membership of 13 Pool and Spa Associations from Europe. It is this international make-up of EUSA that has enabled it to be directly involved with the CEN as ‘Liaison Status’. However, for BSPF members such as
SPATA and BISHTA (which are national Trade Associations) they are involved through their National Standards body and SPATA is proud to sit on the relevant UK committee, through BSI. When dealing with
“FOR THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS, SPATA HAS BEEN DIRECTLY INVOLVED WITH CEN (THE CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN NORMALISATION) ON BEHALF OF THE BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION (BSI). CEN’S AIM IS TO STANDARDISE NORMS (STANDARDS, NOT LAWS) THROUGHOUT THE MEMBER STATES AND THE WORK IS PRIMARILY BASED ON ‘SAFETY’ ”
40 June 2014 SPN
CEN matters, each country forms a mirror committee to determine the views, from each country, which are then fed back to the main European committee. This happens in all EU Member states, if they wish to contribute to the drafting of particular EU standards. For swimming pools, there are a number of European standards that have an impact on our industry and in this issue, I will concentrate on the series of standards that are part of BS EN 13451. This set of Standards deals with swimming pool equipment. It is directed at the manufacturers, installers and operators of pool equipment and lays down test methods and parameters to protect the user. For example, the standard sets out the requirements for permissible openings, ensuring there are no entrapment issues. These standards outline how the relevant equipment needs to be installed in the correct manner, as laid down by the manufacturer; any variation from that procedure immediately places the responsibility on the installer and not the manufacturer.
The current series of standards related to EN 13451 are: • Part 1: General safety requirements and test methods.
• Part 2: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for ladders, stepladders and handle bends.
• Part 3: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for inlets and outlets and water/air based water leisure features.
• Part 4: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for starting platforms.
• Part 5: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for lane lines and dividing line.
• Part 6: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for turning boards.
• Part 7: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for water polo goals.
• Part 10: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for diving platforms, diving springboards and associated equipment.
• Part 11: Swimming pool equipment, additional specific safety requirements and test methods for movable pool floors and movable bulk heads.
The keen eyed amongst the readers will notice that there is no Part 8 or 9 in the list above, as they have been discontinued and / or amalgamated into the remaining numbered standards. You should purchase a copy of each of the relevant current standards for your own use and there are 20% discounts for SPATA and BISHTA members on virtually all the standards available from BSI.
I would like to draw to your attention that Part 10 (diving platforms, etc) and Part 11 (movable pool floors, etc) have recently been updated with 2014 versions and the earlier versions (2004) are now withdrawn. The updates to Part 10 have included the reference to EN 15288 (Parts 1 and 2) to be added, dimensions of diving platforms and springboards to be revised and an introduction and a bibliography have been added.
The updates to Part 11 include the requirements for recessed ledges and steps being modified and the width of the walkable area around the starting platforms has been changed.
The Regulations and Standards are changing very rapidly, to make sure you are not left behind, there has never been a better time to join SPATA to keep abreast of the developments.
In the next issue, I will highlight the revision of BS EN 15288 (Parts 1 and 2) concerning the Design and Operation of (Commercial) Swimming Pools. I will also mention some of the other European standards that have an impact on swimming pools. SPN
PETER LANG
Peter is an independent consultant and SPATA’s Technical Adviser. He is a SPATA Inspector and Chairman of SPATA’s Technical Committee.
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
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