Chlorine exposure could be associated with allergies, and eye or skin irritations. Previous studies showed that low atmospheric chlorine of < 0.3 ppm were associated with respiratory hypersensitivity. This study aims at determining the potential airborne chlorine pollution from swimming pools and associated adverse effects among pool users and nearby residents.

Methodology:

Stationary chlorine exposure levels were measured at 20, 50, and 100 ft from the test swimming pools by using the GasSensing Aeroqual Series 200 Monitor. An IRB-approved survey was administered among swimming pool users and nearby residents and Chi-Square test was used to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference in skin, eye, and respiratory symptoms between the pool users or residents with relatively high chlorine exposure and the control unexposed group.

Results:

The combined mean ±SD values and range for chlorine gas levels were 0.20 ±0.15,0.16 ±0.03, and 0.17 ±0.12 ppm and overall range was 0.002 to 0.8 ppm. The percentages of participants that reported skin itching, eye irritation, and shortness of breath were 22.2%, 25%, and 8.3% in the test group (n = 36), respectively. The Chi-Square tests, however, showed that there was no significant difference in these symptoms’ presence between the test and the control groups (p> 0.05).

Conclusion:

Chlorine levels near test swimming pools could be relatively high, frequently above 0.2 ppm, with suspected health effects. The survey data, however, did not show significantly higher occurrences of skin, eye, and respiratory irritations among the test population, possibly because of small sample sizes.