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SPN JUN 2011 WorldNews
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk worldnews
NEW POOL DISABLED ACCESS LAW FOR THE UNITED STATES
The United States is set to lead the rest of the world when new laws come into place next March which require that all pools open to the public must be equipped with disabled assisted entry systems. The regulations, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), will make it a legal requirement for all pools to have a pool and spa lift. The act also provides detailed specifications for pools slopes and access to the water. Disability access to pools is not enforced by law although many countries have increased facilities for disabled swimmers.
The changes must be in place by 15 March next year. The new laws will affect swimming pools, spas, wading pools, and aquatic
recreational facilities. The regulation defines five permitted means of entry to the pool: lifts and sloped entries and transfer walls, transfer systems, and accessible pool stairs. The only means of entry that can be used on its own without any other means of entry is a sloped ramp. Swimming pools with less than 300 linear feet of pool wall must have at least one primary means of entry with a handicapped lift or sloped entry.
Swimming pools with more than 300 linear feet of pool wall must have two means of entry – at least one of them must be primary. The regulation provides detailed specifications for the pool lifts and slopes. The main requirements of
MONTH OF SAFETY MESSAGES GOES OUT TO THE PUBLIC
May is National Water Safety Month through the United States. The increase in the number of drownings and accidents is still on the increase and the move is made against the background of improving safety in and around the pool and general awareness about the dangers of water. It is being supported strongly by the specialist pool and spa industry with the leading trade body, the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals taking a lead in promotional work.
National Water Safety Month will be celebrated through educational programmes, public service announcements, government information, pool dealer and retailer promotions and the distribution of water-safety-themed materials, aimed primarily at the public. Safety in the water is a major
theme now with a number of campaigns aimed at saving lives. The National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA) has also said it will continue its partnership with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s pool safely campaign: Simple Steps Save Lives campaign, the government’s public education and information campaign to promote pool and spa safety, during 2011. NDPA will help deliver the campaign’s safety messages to the public by distributing materials, posting information online, holding events, and incorporating the campaign into existing public safety outreach programmes.
The World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2011 will be held in the beachside city of Da Nang, Vietnam from 10-13 May, a tourist city experiencing continual growth in swimming pools and aquatic ventures.
pool lifts are that the user must be able to operate it independently and it must provide foot rests. Sloped entries can be built in entryways or can be a removable ramp and they must have handrails. Sloped entries must be in compliance with all ADA specifications. The regulation specifies detailed requirements for secondary means of entry as well. A spokesman for the ADA said
that the new laws reflected the need for swimming pools to provide access for the increasing number of people who wanted to make the most of the use of pools and spas. He said: “In the past, the provision of facilities to help people in and out of the water has been voluntary but the demand is so huge that we need to see that pools offer the right facilities.”
US POOL BUILDER PLEADS GUILTY IN HIGH PROFILE ENTRAPMENT CASE
In what is set to become a precedent-setting case, a Connecticut swimming pool builder in the United States and its chief executive have pleaded guilty in connection with the entrapment death of a six-year-old boy. David Lionetti pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide under an agreement that will prevent him going to prison, while his company, Shoreline Pools pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and will pay US$150,000 for water-safety advertisements.
The State of Connecticut sought criminal charges against Lionetti and Shoreline after an investigation in 2007 proved the child’s death was caused by faulty drain equipment.
Prosecutors allege that Lionetti recklessly caused the boy’s death, because his company failed to install a required safety device that would have prevented the boy’s arm from getting stuck in a powerful pump drain. His attorney has said Lionetti was unaware of a 2004 law requiring the device. With his plea, Lionetti agrees to a one-year suspended sentence with three years’ probation, 500 hours of community service and a public service project that requires him and Shoreline Pools to bring 100 area pools in compliance with all legal requirements and building codes.
Three years ago the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Safety Act became law in the United States setting legal standards for installing safety devices which dealt with the danger of swimmers becoming ‘entrapped’ on the floor by the pool drain.
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