WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U. S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) is alerting consumers and public health
officials to steps they can take to reduce entrapment deaths
and injuries associated with pools, spas, and hot tubs.
The main hazard from hot tubs and spas is the same as
that from pools -- drowning. Since 1980, CPSC has reports of
more than 700 deaths in spas and hot tubs. About one-third
of those were drownings to children under age five.
Other hazards include body part entrapment and hair
entanglement.
Since 1980, CPSC knows of 18 incidents, including five
deaths, involving children between the ages of two and 14
who were injured or died due to body part entrapment
involving the drain of a swimming pool, wading pool, or spa.
In addition, last week, a 16-year-old New Jersey girl
drowned when her body was sucked down against a drain on the
bottom of a spa. Her body apparently formed a vacuum seal
against an outlet for circulating water and she was held
underwater.
Under normal conditions, pipes leading from a pool's
drain, or into the pool's pumps, draw water from the pool
creating suction. If something blocks the pool drain leading
into this pipe, the amount of suction will increase as the
pump draws water past the obstruction. This increased
suction can entrap parts of a person's body, causing the
person to be held underwater. In wading pools, if a child
sits on the drain outlet, the suction can cause
disembowelment.
To reduce the risk of entrapment and drowning, current
safety standards require that each spa have two outlets for
each pump, lessening the amount of suction at any single
outlet.
Since 1978, CPSC has reports of 49 incidents (including
13 deaths) in which people's hair was sucked into the
suction fitting of a spa, hot tub, or whirlpool, causing the
victim's head to be held under water. Hair entanglement
occurs when a bather's hair becomes entangled in a drain
cover as the water and hair are drawn through the drain.
CPSC helped develop a voluntary standard for drain covers
that reduce the risk of hair entanglement.
CPSC offers the following safety tips when using a
hot tub, spa, or whirlpool:
Always use a locked safety cover when the spa is not in
use and keep young children away from spas or hot tubs
unless there is constant adult supervision.
Make sure the spa has the dual drains and drain covers
required by current safety standards.
Regularly have a professional check your spa or hot tub
and make sure it is in good, safe working condition, and
that drain covers are in place and not cracked or missing.
Check the drain covers yourself throughout the year.
Know where the cut-off switch for your pump is so you can
turn it off in an emergency.
Be aware that consuming alcohol while using a spa could
lead to drowning.
Keep the temperature of the water in the spa at 104
degrees Fahrenheit or below.
