Requirements for the supervision of swimming pools

A swimming pool is defined as a “complex facility for bathing where recreational, educational and sporting activities can be carried out”.

The quality of the water supply and the water and air treatment systems, as well as the thermo-hygrometric conditions of the entire complex, are of particular sanitary importance, and also relate to the wellbeing conditions of the visitors.

Swimming facilities, due to their characteristics as confined and often crowded environments, represent sites where the most relevant risk is of a hygienic-sanitary nature.

In swimming pools with an inadequately controlled microclimate with relative humidity at values above 70-80%, favourable conditions can be created for the formation of microbial and fungal proliferation niches on the walls and structural elements of the facility.

The users themselves are often responsible for the deterioration of the hygienic quality of the water, as well as poor management and maintenance of the plant, which can favour the maintenance of conditions conducive to microbial growth and the transmission of diseases.

The water in the pool, as well as the surfaces of the perimeter spaces, barefoot paths, changing rooms, and the water systems of the toilets themselves, can certainly represent a route of transmission of infections and diseases sustained by microorganisms that can survive and multiply under favourable environmental conditions.

The risk of infection associated with immersion in swimming pool water, especially in swimming pools in healthcare facilities, is mainly related to contamination of faecal origin linked to the spread of bacteria and viruses, which are the main vehicles for spreading microorganisms in the water.

It is therefore of particular importance to carry out periodic analyses of the inlet water, the supply water and the tanks themselves.

Read the full article here 👉: T-Magazine - June 24