POOL & SPA INDUSTRY European Standards
In this article, industry expert and Chairman of BSI’s sport playground and recreational equipment and Chair of the swimming pool and aquatic equipment committee (SW/136/8) Ralph Riley, gives SPN readers an overview of the various European standards that directly impact on our industry and the vital role that British Standards (BSI) has in this process
T
he impact of European standards is not only relevant to public use and commercial pools, but there are a variety of European standards about to be published, providing guidance on domestic pools as well. While not the law, they are expected to be followed in each country. BS EN standards have the same status as for example HSE industry guidance. In the UK, we use the prefix BS EN before the relevant number of the standard (denoting British Standard European Norm).
A number of other generic European standards also have some relevance, but will not be covered in this article, thereby retaining the focus on swimming pool specific standards that any self-respecting professional should be familiar with, where applicable. Please note that I am not going to be writing about Managing Health & Safety in Swimming Pools (HSG/179) in this article, as this is UK guidance only, however European swimming pool standards particularly BS EN 15288 and the BS EN 13451 series closely reflect HSE guidance.
As you can see from the graphic below, there are many European standards that directly influence the pool and spa industry. On the left-hand side, the yellow circle indicates that the standard is directly applicable for commercial pools. On the right-hand side, the blue circle indicates that there is an
applicable standard for domestic pools. The green where the two overlap indicates that the standard is applicable to both commercial and domestic pools.
Swimming Pool Design And Operation
Since 2008, BS EN 15288:2008 Swimming Pools has been in existence with Part 1 focussing on safety requirements for design and Part 2 focusing on safety requirements for operation. These standards are applicable to all public use and commercial pools. As domestic pools were not included in these particular standards above, BS EN 16582 Domestic Swimming Pools has been developed and will be available very soon. Part 1 details general requirements, including safety requirements and test methods; Part 2 details specific requirements including safety requirements and test methods for in-ground pools; and Part 3 details specific requirements including safety requirements and test methods for above- ground pools.
Swimming Pool Equipment
BS EN 13451: Swimming pool equipment has parts 1 to 11 (although parts 8 and 9 are not available). These standards are applicable for commercial pools (but the general advice is also invaluable for swimming pool equipment in domestic settings). • Part 1 is general safety
requirements and test methods and the other parts provide additional specific safety requirements and test methods for:
• Part 2: ladders, stepladders and handle bends.
• Part 3: inlets and outlets and water/air based water leisure features.
• Part 4: starting platforms. • Part 5: lane lines and dividing
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• Part 6: turning boards. • Part 7: water polo goals. • Part 10: diving platforms, diving springboards and associated equipment.
• Part 11: moveable pool floors and moveable bulkheads.
Swimming Pool Water Filtration, Circulation And Treatment While there has been previous collaboration in Europe with commercial pool standards (such as Aqua Europa) there are no commonly agreed standards currently in existence. The role of PWTAG is therefore very important for public use and commercial pool water treatment advice. In terms of domestic swimming pools, BS EN 16713 Domestic Swimming Pools Water Systems has three parts: • Part 1: filtration systems – requirements and test methods
• Part 2: circulation systems – requirements and test methods
• Part 3: treatment – requirements and test methods
In-ground Swimming Pool Liners BS EN 15836 is concerned with plastics, plasticised poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC-P) membranes for in-ground swimming pools. Part 1 deals with homogenous membranes of nominal thickness equal to or greater than 0.75 mm and Part 2 deals with reinforced membranes of nominal thickness equal to or greater than 1.5 mm.
Swimming Pool Chemicals There are over 20 standards detailing what is required from chemicals used for treatment of swimming pools water. The standards focus on the quality of the materials used to make the products. Standards are shortly being developed for BCDMH and cyanuric acid. The existing standards are: • BS EN 15031 - Aluminium based coagulants.
• BS EN 15032 - Trichloroisocyanuric acid.
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
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