80 Percent of Public Pools Closed Due To Serious Sanitation Violations

Almost 80% of US public swimming pools and hot tubs in five American states in 2013 were found to have violated health and safety guidelines, underscoring the need for public to be aware of the health-related risks often associated with poorly sanitized pools according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a statement on Thursday this week.

"We should all check for inspection results online or on site before using public pools, hot tubs or water playgrounds and do our own inspection before getting into the water," said Michele Hlavsa, chief of the CDC's Healthy Swimming Program as quoted in an article by US News and World Report.

The federal health agency stated that their report covered five states with the most number of public swimming facilities, namely, Arizona, California, Florida, New York, and Texas. Health inspectors were sent to review the facilities and found that one in every eight pools that underwent inspection were found to have serious multiple violations that CDC ordered their immediate closure. In addition, one in five wading pools for children inspected were also shut down afterward.

"This is particularly troubling because children who are still learning their toiletry skills are more likely to contaminate the water, and more likely to swallow the water, both of which can lead to diarrheal illness," Michael Beach, the CDC's associate director for healthy water as quoted by Fox News Health.

Poorly sanitized and poorly maintained swimming facilities have been repeatedly associated with a number of accidents, infections, and diseases. For example, CDC said that based on their 2003 to 2012 data, about 4, 000 people reportedly drowned and almost 350 disease outbreaks occurred. Typical violations include applying too little disinfectant below the recommended amount and not providing adequate safety gears and equipment to prevent people from drowning in the pools.