On December 19, 2007, President Bush and Congress passed the “Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act” to promote the safety of children around swimming pools, hot tubs, and spas, specifically addressing suction entrapment prevention and increased residential barriers.

The Safe Kids Worldwide Web site identifies drowning as the “second leading cause of accidental death among children ages 1 to 14,” ¹ and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) lists drowning as 1 of the top 5 leading causes of unintentional deaths in the United States from ages 0 to 14.²  From January 1990 to August of 2004, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported 74 known cases of body entrapment, including 13 deaths due to drowning after being held under water by powerful suction forces.³ 

Many of these drowning deaths could have been prevented through increased regulations and an increased awareness.  The newly passed “Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act” will reduce the number of unintentional drownings among young children in public and residential pools by focusing on preventing suction entrapment and increasing barriers. 

What is suction entrapment?

As identified by the CPSC, suction entrapment can occur in one of the following ways: ²

·    Hair entrapment – caused by hair flowing or being tangled in a drain cover or outlet

·    Limb entrapment – caused by a finger, toe, or hand being caught in a drain cover or outlet

·    Body Entrapment – caused by massive suction forces applied to a large portion of the body or limbs

·    Mechanical Entrapment – caused by either jewelry or accessories caught in a drain cover or outlet

·    Evisceration / Disembowelment – caused by intense suction forces applied directly to the intestines, usually by sitting on a drain outlet

Suction entrapment does not specifically cause death.  However, when adults and young children tangled in a drain cover underwater or are caught in suction forces, a rescuer must be able to lift the equivalent of 500 pounds to detach the victim from the suction force.  Unfortunately, most people are unable to overcome the massive suction forces and the consequences can be deadly to the victim, resulting in drowning.

Will the new law affect us?

If you are a manufacturer: YES!  Effective one year after the date of the enactment of this law, each “spa drain cover manufactured, distributed, or entered into commerce in the United States shall conform to the entrapment protection standards of the ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 performance standard, or any successor standard regulating such swimming pool or drain cover.”⁴  Any suction outlets in the United States will now be required to be tested and approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory before sale and distribution.

If you are an aquatic designer or currently working with an aquatic designer: YES!  Any main drains or suction outlets constructed on-site, known under this law as a field fabricated outlet, must be “equipped with anti-entrapment devices or systems that comply with the ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 performance standard.”⁴  Also, under the ASME/ANSI standard, the field fabricated outlets must conform to specific flow rates and must “fully address the considerations of cover / grate loadings, durability, hair, finger and limb entrapment issues, cover / grate secondary layer protection, [and] related sump design.”⁵  In other words, aquatic designers must now design any and all on-site constructed main drains and suction outlets in accordance with the ASME/ANSI flow rates and other specified items.

If you are an owner or operator of a public swimming pool, hot tub, or spa: YES!  In one year, your facility will be required to have anti-entrapment measures incorporated in your facility to prevent suction entrapment hazards.  To public pools across the country, this means that you will have to have an approved method of preventing suction entrapment.  As identified under the law, “each public pool and spa with a single main drain. . .other than an unblockable drain shall be equipped at a minimum with 1 or more of the following devices: safety vacuum release, suction-limiting vent, gravity drainage, automatic pump shut-off, drain disablement or other systems determined to be equally effective at preventing injury associated with pool drainage systems.” ⁴

States will also be affected by the “State Swimming Pool Safety Program” established within this law.  If states are able to meet the minimum statute requirements, they may be eligible for grant money to hire and train enforcement personnel and to educate the public regarding drowning and entrapment prevention measures.  Those states meeting the minimum requirements set forth by the law must have statutes requiring barriers on residential pools and spas, and requiring anti-entrapment measures on public and residential pools.