Latest news with #chlorine
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
How clean is a public pool? Expert reveals what is really lurking beneath the surface
On hot summer days, few things are more refreshing than a dip in the pool. But have you ever wondered if the pool is as clean as that crystal blue water appears? As an immunologist and infectious disease specialist, I study how germs spread in public spaces and how to prevent the spread. I even teach a course called 'The Infections of Leisure' where we explore the risks tied to recreational activities and discuss precautions, while also taking care not to turn students into germophobes. Swimming, especially in public pools and water parks, comes with its own unique set of risks — from minor skin irritations to gastrointestinal infections. But swimming also has a plethora of physical, social and mental health benefits. With some knowledge and a little vigilance, you can enjoy the water without worrying about what might be lurking beneath the surface. The reality of pool germs Summer news headlines and social media posts often spotlight the 'ick-factor' of communal swimming spaces. These concerns do have some merit. The good news is that chlorine, which is widely used in pools, is effective at killing many pathogens. The not-so-good news is that chlorine does not work instantly – and it doesn't kill everything. Every summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues alerts about swimming-related outbreaks of illness caused by exposure to germs in public pools and water parks. A 2023 CDC report tracked over 200 pool-associated outbreaks from 2015 to 2019 across the U.S., affecting more than 3,600 people. These outbreaks included skin infections, respiratory issues, ear infections and gastrointestinal distress. Many of the outcomes from such infections are mild, but some can be serious. Germs and disinfectants Even in a pool that's properly treated with chlorine, some pathogens can linger for minutes to days. One of the most common culprits is Cryptosporidium, a microscopic germ that causes watery diarrhoea. This single-celled parasite has a tough outer shell that allows it to survive in chlorine-treated water for up to 10 days. It spreads when faecal matter — often from someone with diarrhoea — enters the water and is swallowed by another swimmer. Even a tiny amount, invisible to the eye, can infect dozens of people. Another common germ is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium that causes hot tub rash and swimmer's ear. Viruses like norovirus and adenovirus can also linger in pool water and cause illness. Swimmers introduce a range of bodily residues to the water, including sweat, urine, oils and skin cells. These substances, especially sweat and urine, interact with chlorine to form chemical byproducts called chloramines that may pose health risks. These byproducts are responsible for that strong chlorine smell. A clean pool should actually lack a strong chlorine odour, as well as any other smells, of course. It is a common myth that a strong chlorine smell is a good sign of a clean pool. In fact, it may actually be a red flag that means the opposite – that the water is contaminated and should perhaps be avoided. How to play it safe at a public pool Most pool-related risks can be reduced with simple precautions by both the pool staff and swimmers. And while most pool-related illnesses won't kill you, no one wants to spend their vacation or a week of beautiful summer days in the bathroom. These 10 tips can help you avoid germs at the pool: Shower before swimming. Rinsing off for at least one minute removes most dirt and oils on the body that reduce chlorine's effectiveness. Avoid the pool if you're sick, especially if you have diarrhoea or an open wound. Germs can spread quickly in water. Try to keep water out of your mouth to minimise the risk of ingesting germs. Don't swim if you have diarrhoea to help prevent the spread of germs. If diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis, often called 'crypto,' wait two weeks after diarrhoea stops before returning to the pool. Take frequent bathroom breaks. For children and adults alike, regular bathroom breaks help prevent accidents in the pool. Check diapers hourly and change them away from the pool to prevent faecal contamination. Dry your ears thoroughly after swimming to help prevent swimmer's ear. Don't swim with an open wound – or at least make sure it's completely covered with a waterproof bandage to protect both you and others. Shower after swimming to remove germs from your skin. Lisa Cuchara is a Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Quinnipiac University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Woman takes legal action for chlorine exposure at spa
A woman has said she is taking legal action after being exposed to excess levels of chlorine while swimming at a pool in Derbyshire. Enid Hollingworth, 71, is one of four people taken to hospital after a chemical leak at Clifford's Gym and Spa in Regent Street, Long Eaton, on 7 Hollingworth said she was awaiting surgery on her eye as a consequence of the exposure and added "lessons need to be learned".The owner of the gym, Mark Clifford said internal investigations remained ongoing and it was "not therefore appropriate to provide any further comment". "I think it's important for everybody to feel safe when they go for a swim, when they think they are doing something healthy."People are dealing with very dangerous chemicals, chlorine is a very dangerous chemical, and I think it needs to be thoroughly looked into."It just can't be allowed to happen again to anyone else," Mrs Hollingworth said. Clifford Health Club and Spa said the leak in January happened after staff had failed to follow correct said there had been a build-up of dry chlorine in the pipework of a hydrotherapy pool which was undergoing Hollingworth is one of three people who are now seeking compensation. 'Held accountable' Ahmed Jarad, associate solicitor at Express Solicitors, said: "We were approached by three clients to take legal action under common law negligence and breach of section two of the Occupiers Liability Act 1957."Ultimately it's to make sure that this doesn't happen again to anyone else to make sure that the health club are held accountable."People expect to go to their local health club to better their health, not damage it, and I think unfortunately on this occasion that wasn't the case."Mrs Hollingworth, said she was struggling to get back into a swimming pool after the chlorine exposure left her with a four-month-long cough and problems with her left eye."I don't know how I'm going to react when I smell the chlorine, so I really don't have the confidence to go back to swimming and that was a big part of my fitness regime."I suffer from back pain and I have osteoarthritis arthritis and the swimming was really good but I still feel that I haven't got the courage to go back."Erewash Borough Council said its investigation into the leak was continuing.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Thousands ordered to shelter in place as chemical leak spreads across Texas
A potentially deadly chemical leak at an industrial park in Texas has sparked a shelter-in-place order for thousands of people. Sirens began blaring at 9am local at the Dow Chemical facility in Freeport after chlorine gas spewed from the factory. Lake Jackson Police Department has been advised of the active level 3 chlorine release, meaning gas has moved outside the confines of the city. Breathing in chlorine gas, even in small amounts, can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat and potentially lead to more serious respiratory problems. Higher concentrations of chlorine gas can cause lung injury, including pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), and can be fatal. Freeport, a city in Brazoria County, is home to more than 10,500 people. Resident Michael Kelly told local Click2Houston:'It is just part of being here -- explosions, gas releases. 'The chemical plants take precaution for this, it is an undesirable situation but it does happen.' This is a developing story... More updates to come
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Company decides not to rebuild chlorine plant with history of fires, explosions and toxic clouds
CONYERS, Ga. — The company that operated a Georgia chlorine plant with a history of explosions, chemical fires and toxic clouds that have drifted over neighborhoods outside Atlanta has decided not to rebuild the main manufacturing facility in Conyers. In a statement, BioLab Inc. said it has been unable to resume manufacturing operations in Conyers after the most recent catastrophe on Sept. 29.
WIRED
16-05-2025
- Health
- WIRED
Does Your City Use Chlorine or Chloramine to Treat Its Water?
Different cities use different water treatments, and this can affect how filters work on your water. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. There's chlorine in your drinking water, America. Or maybe there's a different chlorine compound called chloramine. This isn't meant to alarm you, though of course it's alarming to many. An entire industry of faucet and countertop and shower filters has sprung up specifically to remove chlorine compounds from the water you drink and bathe in, whether for reasons of health or flavor or beauty. After all, chlorine tastes and smells bad; some people are sensitive to its aroma even in tiny amounts. It also potentially messes with your hair dye and dries out your skin. Plus, few people realllllly want to drink chlorine, if you ask them. Hence, water filters like WIRED's best-tested shower filter, the Canopy Filtered Showerhead, designed to remove chlorine before you wash with it. But note that the chlorine is entirely supposed to be there. The US Centers for Disease Control has hailed water chlorination as one of the greatest public health advances of the 20th century, alongside such obscure triumphs as 'penicillin' and 'the polio vaccine.' Extremely low concentrations of chlorine or chlorine compounds, generally around 1 part per million—well below the Environmental Protection Agency's acceptable limits for human consumption—are added to water pipes to kill potential germs like typhoid and cholera and E. coli that might otherwise grow in water and shorten your life or make it briefly awful. Home filters are designed to remove chlorine after it's already done its job in the pipes. But if you do buy filters for your drinking water or shower water, there's a complicating factor. More than half of big US cities don't use chlorine, in part because free chlorine in water is highly reactive and has a short half-life and can interact with other substances to create harmful compounds thought to be carcinogenic. More than half of the country's largest cities instead use chloramine, a more stable and persistent chlorine compound. If you're trying to filter out chlorine compounds, it matters which one your city is using. New York, Atlanta, and Chicago use chlorine in their water systems. But Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Boston use chloramine in their water. Differences Between Chlorine and Chloramine Chloramine has some potential advantages over chlorine. The aroma is generally perceived as less pronounced in drinking water. Chloramine's longer half-life and longer persistence in pipes also means health authorities can use lower quantities and still maintain levels needed to disinfect pipes. But chloramine's relative stability can also make it harder to filter out of water than pure chlorine, especially using shower water filters that rely on chemical reactions to neutralize chlorine. While chloramine will oxidize relatively quickly in open air when exposed to light, brewers in cities that use chloramine often use chemical tablets to neutralize chloramine. Photograph: Matthew Korfhage Knowing which substance your city uses will help you determine which filters will work best to get rid of it. The certification arm of the National Science Foundation, which has seen drastic and systematic cutbacks in recent months under DOGE, traditionally offers reliable testing standards for chlorine removal for water filters, certifying chlorine removal over thousands of gallons of water. And so if your city uses chlorine, the most reliable gauge of a water filter's effectiveness has generally been whether it's been tested and certified to NSF standards. For shower filters, the standard for chlorine filtration is NSF/ANSI standard 177. Most makers of shower water filters in particular have not received certification and don't share independent data. But there's at least one exception in the United States: The Weddell Duo inline shower filter is certified to remove chlorine from water systems treated with free chlorine. For chloramine systems, the NSF doesn't offer a specific standard, muddying the waters a bit. So I did my own testing using home lab kits designed for pools and aquariums. In general, I found that filters that used activated or catalyzed carbon and multistage filters appeared to fare better at removing chloramine levels. Specifically, our testing indicated that only a few shower filters on the market removed chloramine down to undetectable levels, in cities with chloraminated systems. These included the Canopy Filtered Showerhead ($170), the Afina A-01 Filtered Showerhead ($129), the Hydroviv Filtered Showerhead ($200), and the Curo Filtered Showerhead ($109). Which is to say: Knowing which chemical your city uses might help you determine which filter is best able to remove chlorine and chlorine compounds from your system. Here's the list for the top 50 most populous cities in the United States. (But note that some cities that use chlorine sometimes temporarily switch to chlorine to disinfect their systems, and vice versa.) Large US Cities That Treat Water With Chloramine Austin, Texas Boston, Massachusetts Dallas, Texas Denver, Colorado Fort Worth, Texas Houston, Texas Indianapolis, Indiana Kansas City, Missouri Long Beach, California Los Angeles, California Louisville, Kentucky Miami, Florida Milwaukee, Wisconsin Minneapolis, Minnesota Oakland, California Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Omaha, Nebraska Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Portland, Oregon Raleigh, North Carolina San Diego, California San Francisco, California San Jose, California Tampa, Florida Tulsa, Oklahoma Virginia Beach, Virgina Washington, DC Large US Cities That Treat Water With Chlorine Albuquerque, New Mexico Arlington, Texas Atlanta, Georgia. Bakersfield, California Charlotte, North Carolina Chicago, Illinois Colorado Springs, Colorado Columbus, Ohio Detroit, Michigan El Paso, Texas Fresno, California Jacksonville, Florida Las Vegas, Nevada Memphis, Tennessee Mesa, Arizona Nashville, Tennessee New York, New York Phoenix, Arizona Sacramento, California San Antonio, Texas Seattle, Washington Tucson, Arizona Baltimore, Maryland
