Injuries Associated with Pool Chemicals — United States, 2007

Background: In 2007, New York State reported >30 injury outbreaks or events (1983–2006) involving swimming pool chemicals to CDC's Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (WBDOSS). Many represented the first such reports reported to WBDOSS. To better understand the epidemiology of these pool chemical–associated injuries, we examined data from multiple available sources.

Methods: We studied injury data collected by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) and the New York State data.

Results: The CPSC estimated 4,635 people sought care in U.S. emergency rooms in 2007 due to injuries associated with swimming pool chemicals. Poisoning, which includes ingestion and inhalation of vapors, was the most frequent diagnosis followed by dermatitis/conjunctivitis and chemical burns. The AAPCC received 9,573 calls about single exposures to swimming pool or aquarium chemicals in 2007, almost all (97.0% [9,287]) of which were unintentional. The New York State data revealed common injury themes such as not using personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling chemicals and violent chemical reactions resulting from poor chemical handling and storage practices.

Conclusions: These data underscore the preventable nature of pool chemical–associated injuries.

Educating operators of public pools and residential pool owners on appropriate use of PPE while handling pool chemicals and proper chemical handling and storage can minimize the risk of pool chemical–associated injuries.