It’s fun. It’s refreshing. It’s one of the best forms of exercise. But, it could also be deadly. In my two-part series, I will show the other side of swimming; the side most people don’t know about. Pool-related illness is staggering and, each year, the number of pool-related illnesses increases. From indoor pools to outdoor pools, chlorine is a standard chemical used to make swimming safer. But, does chlorine really protect swimmers?
Red, burning, itchy eyes, itchy skin, dry “swimmer’s hair,” and wrinkling of the skin are common side-effects of chlorine known by the general public. But, there are far worse effects on one’s health than a case of swimmer’s ear. Studies now show that chlorine produces powerful toxins that can lead to cancer, heart disease, miscarriages in women, and it can even eat away the enamel on teeth.
Not only are these toxins absorbed through the skin, but they are also being absorbed into the lungs, resulting in severe cases of asthma. Chlorine releases toxins into the air. Children who are exposed to chlorine are at high risk of developing asthma. The permanent lung damage is equivalent to smoking one pack of cigarettes a day. Children inhale more air than adults, and their immune systems have not matured enough to fight off such hazardous chemicals. It was once thought that swimming was the best type of exercise for asthmatic children – due to the fact that it is a low-impact cardio exercise. However, over time the asthmatic symptoms worsen, and the use of inhalers increases.
Belgian scientists found that children using indoor swimming pools could be at greater risk due to the gas, Trichloramine, which is produced when chlorine in swimming pools becomes mixed with urine, sweat and other human organic matter. Their report states that this gas increases the body’s level of certain proteins that can attack the lining of the lungs, making a person more prone to allergies and asthma. Many indoor pools lack the ventilation needed to disburse these harmful toxins.
Children are not the only ones at high risk. Anyone, especially swimmers in training, could be heavily affected. Some reports even indicate that the health of people around the swimming pool, such as coaches, trainers and lifeguards can also be compromised. Nitrogen Trichloride, produced by chlorine, is the main cause of occupational asthma. These are the findings of Dr. Thickett of The Occupational Lung Disease Unit at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital. He states that the problem is not the chlorine, but what the chlorine turns into when combined with sweat, dander, urine and other organics.
Swimmers in training use indoor pools for extended periods of time. The longer they are in the water and the greater intensity of the workout, the higher they are at risk. Many training pools are not ventilated properly and therefore swimmers inhale high concentrations of chloroform. However, most absorption is through the skin. So, simply fixing ventilation problems is not enough. Swimmers are taking these toxic agents with them long after they leave the pool. Since swimmers in training spend so many hours in and out of the pool almost every day, their bodies do not have the sufficient amount of time it takes to cleanse the toxic build-up. It takes at least 12 hours for this type of cleansing to occur as stated in the Archives of Environmental Health.
The majority of commercial swimming pool facilities are using heavy doses of chlorine concentrates to prevent serious bacteria from forming in the pool. If one is able to smell the chlorine in or outside of the pool, the levels are dangerously high. And, as long as the people who maintain these pools believe that overchlorinating is the answer, an uprise of health issues will continue.
Companies, such as Aquatron, in Del Ray Beach, FL, Weda Water Purification, in Sweden, Atlantic Ultraviolet, in Hauppauge, NY, continue to research and design equipment such as saline chlorinators, ozonators and ultraviolet systems, to reduce the usage of toxic chemicals in swimming pools throughout the world.
We need to put the fun and safety back into swimming. We need to educate the public about the dangers that could occur if we allow these toxins to continue controlling our pools. With other means of purification, and commercial facilities upgrading their pools each year, hopefully chlorinepoisoning will be a thing of the past – allowing us to swim in a clean and safe environment. In the next issue, I will be discussing further risks related to bacterias in the water.
For further information on alternative water purification systems, you can contact Brock Enterprises, one of the leading commercial distributors worldwide, at (800) 332-2360.
Carol Ramundo is the CEO of CarMel Consulting Solutions. She has 15 years in the Environmental Industry, 12 years in the Aquatics Industry.
