This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at El diseño o mantenimiento inadecuados de las piscinas, principales causantes de los accidentes

The Institute of Biomecánica bets by the hygiene in the swimming pools to warn accidents

The design or unsuitable maintenance of the swimming pools, main causantes of the accidents

Source: Institute of Biomecánica of Valencia (IBV)18/07/2012

Swimming pools with corners and zones of dead vision that are not designed thinking in the prevention of accidents, insufficient ladders or of dimensions that do not fulfil the rule, pavings that slip, are some of the dangers that find us when we speak of this type of sportive installations. The Institute of Biomecánica (IBV) carries years working in improving appearances related with the prevention and the hygiene of the sportive installations, from the design until the gestión and maintenance of the same.

Exists legislation and abundant normative technician that do not achieve to avoid the accidents that suceden, especially during the summer, in the aquatic installations, so many swimming pools of swimming as of chapoteo or zones of aquatic games and leisure.

Behind the majority of these accidents is a design or unsuitable maintenance of the installations, that translates in slips or hits with bad elements fixed or dilapidated.

The paving that bordea the swimming pools is a fundamental element when speaking of slips and risks of fall. Photo: Graham Briggs.

The paving that bordea the swimming pools is a fundamental element when speaking of slips and risks of fall. The surface of the beaches has to be flat, without that form puddles and with slope of at least 2% in perpendicular and opposite steering to the glass to the canaleta of collected of water. The paving of the beaches has to be waterproof and imputrescible, resistant to the chemical agents of purification of the water, that prevent the proliferation of microorganisms and antideslizante in humid state so that it prevent the slips. His rugosidad will not be annoying neither will injure the plants of the barefoot feet and will have to allow a correct cleaning and avoid the learning of puddles.

This same problem of the paving is used to find with frequency in the showers of outside and in the clothings. Besides, the evacuation of waters has to be guaranteeed, avoiding the encharcamiento.

The rejillas also can cause accidents by a bad placing or break. It is necessary to check that they are very placed, that do not project of the plane of the paving and that are not deformed to avoid cuttings or tropiezos.

From the Institute of Biomecánica recommends also loan attention to the ladders of access to the swimming pools, another focus of problems. According to the measures of general hygiene, the accesses to the glass of the swimming pool by vertical ladders have to place in the corners of the lateral sides (if the swimming pool is rectangular) or at least one each 15 metres (irregular swimming pools).

The vertical ladders have to be of stainless material and will reach a depth under the water of 1 metre like minimum to facilitate his utilisation by the bañistas. The distance between the last stair and the floor of the swimming pool does not have to generate risk by entrapment for boys. And besides, at least one of the ladders of the swimming pool has to arrive to a suitable distance of the bottom to be able to be used by the personnel of the installation in the works of maintenance. Also they are recommended the ladders with pasamanos asymmetric that facilitate the use for people of different height and avoid the games of the boys.

Has to loan attention to the ladders of access to the swimming pools, another focus of problems. Photo: John Nyberg.

The depth of the glass in childish swimming pools will be of 0,5 metres at most. In the rest of swimming pools the depth will be of 3 metres at most and will have zones whose depth will be lower that 1,4 metres. They will signpost the points where surpass this depth and will signpost the value of the maximum and the minimum depth in his corresponding points by means of labels at least in the walls of the glass and in the andén or beach, with the end to facilitate his visibility, so much from inside as from out of the glass.

The slope of the glass of the swimming pools will be at most of 6% in childish swimming pools and between the 6 and 10% until a depth of 1,4 metres, and of 35% in the rest of zones in swimming pools of re-create or polyvalent.

Others of the injuries or situations of risk that appear in the swimming pools are ocasionadas by the filters of impulsión or succión of the water, where have arrived to drown people when remaining trapped. On these elements describe situations like entrapment of fingers, enganchones by succión of the peel, or even in occasions find that the person remains literally hit ‘' to the filter, by the effect succión of the water when supporting on her.

The main problem that appears in the corcheras is the fault of floats. Photo: Afonso Lima.

Like common elements in the swimming pools of sportive use are the corcheras, although, besides, in some occasions in swimming pools of use lúdico use like element separador between zones. The main problem that appears in the corcheras is the fault of floats, well because they have broken or in occasions are using in zones no planned and does not have of sufficient floats. If this occurs will find us with the wire of tension in sight and with the possibility of entrapments between the floats. It is important to take into account that the floats have to be changed in what it appear a flaw, since they are used to to be plastic elements that once broken present sharp edges and the bañistas that it desconocen take to the corcheras with strength supporting his weight on the same.

By all these reasons, from the Institute of Biomecánica recommends that they do periodic reviews of the installations so that they minimise the accidents, especially in this period of the year in which the swimming pools are a focus of attraction of a big number of people.