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PubMed1996

"Mappings of secrecy and disclosure": The Swimming Pool Library, the closet, and the empire.

The Swimming Pool Library is a novel of the closet that also offers a post-colonial reading of homosexuality in contemporary culture. Through its interpretation of gay life as a dialogic between Wildean and Gidean readings of homosexuality, and its examination of the closet as what Sedgwick calls "the defining structure of gay oppression," the novel analyzes the tensions of political oppression against sexual freedom. The Swimming Pool Library is thus seen as a text in conflict with itself about the very issues it raises: closeting and gay liberation, sexual freedom and sexual responsibility, loyalty to the past and duty in the present.

Homosexuality, Male↗
PubMed2006

Swimming pool attendance and hay fever rates later in life.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to chlorination by-products through swimming pool attendance showed adverse health effects on children. The aim of our study was to assess whether pool attendance in childhood would be related to higher rates of allergic diseases in adulthood, with special regard to hay fever. METHODS: 2606 adults aged 35-74 years provided retrospectively collected information on swimming pool attendance and medical history, including data on atopic diseases. Information was assessed by a combination of a personal interview and a self-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression models were applied to study associations between hay fever and swimming pool attendance, adjusted for potentially relevant confounders, such as age, gender, region, education and smoking. RESULTS: Higher rates of hay fever could be seen when frequently exposed at school age (aOR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.09-2.77), frequently exposed during the past 12 months (aOR: 1.32, 95% CI: 0.92-1.89) and ever exposed (aOR: 1.65, 95% CI: 0.98-2.78). Strongest associations were found for the youngest subjects and were dose-related to the extent of current and school-age pool attendance. CONCLUSIONS: Impaired integrity of the lung epithelial by exposure to chlorination by-products might facilitate a closer contact to allergens and therefore could result in higher rates of hay fever.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Occupational asthma caused by chloramines in indoor swimming-pool air.

The first series of three workers who developed occupational asthma following exposure to airborne chloramines in indoor chlorinated swimming pools is reported. Health problems of swimmers in indoor pools have traditionally been attributed to the chlorine in the water. Chlorine reacts with bodily proteins to form chloramines; the most volatile and prevalent in the air above swimming pools is nitrogen trichloride. Two lifeguards and one swimming teacher with symptoms suggestive of occupational asthma kept 2-hourly measurements of peak expiratory flow at home and at work, analysed using the occupational asthma system (OASYS) plotter, and/or had specific bronchial challenge testing to nitrogen trichloride, or a workplace challenge. Air measurement in one of the pools showed the nitrogen trichloride levels to be 0.1-0.57 mg x m(-3), which was similar to other studies. Two workers had peak expiratory flow measurements showing occupational asthma (OASYS-2 scores 2.88 and 3.8), both had a positive specific challenge to nitrogen trichloride at 0.5 mg x m(-3) with negative challenges to chlorine released from sodium hypochlorite. The third worker had a positive workplace challenge. Swimming-pool asthma due to airborne nitrogen trichloride can occur in workers who do not enter the water because of this chloramine. The air above indoor swimming pools therefore needs to be assessed and managed as carefully as the water.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Quantitative suspension test for the evaluation of disinfectants for swimming pool water: experiences with sodium hypochlorite and sodium dichloroisocyanurate.

To evaluate products intended for disinfection of water in swimming pools a quantitative suspension test was designed based on the principle of the Dutch standard suspension test (SST). As artifical swimming pool water a buffered bovine albumin solution (BBAS) was used. The microbicidal potency of BBAS chlorinated with sodium hypochlorite (NaOC1) for 5 min to free chlorine concentractions of 0.3, 0.5 and 1 mg/1 appeared to meet the tentative standard of 4 decimals reduction (D.R.) within 5 min against the bacterial test strains used, e.g. Staph, aureus, Str. faecalis, P. aeruginosa, E. coli and Prot. mirabilis. Usually an exposure time of 30 s was sufficient to obtain this reduction. The kill C. albicans to that extent approx. 1 mg/1 free chlorine was needed. The redox potential of BBAS chlorinated as described above amounted to approx. 600 mV or higher values. When BBAS was chlorinated for 5 min with sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC) addition of 8 mg/1 of this substance was required to obtain about the same microbicidal potency as that of BBAS chlorinated with NaOC1 to 0.3 mg/1 free chlorine. The redox potential in the former solution was found to be above 600 mV. The microbicidal potency of BBAS chlorinated for 5 minutes with 2 mg/1 NaDCC was virtually zero and with 4 mg/1 NaDCC suboptimal. These findings correlated well with the redox potentials of 262 mV and 432 mV, respectively, measured in the latter solutions. Addition of cyanuric acid to BBAS before chlorination resulted in lower killing rates, although the free chlorine concentration, determined with the FAS-DPD method, seemed to be increased. It is concluded that in swimming pool water chlorinated with chloroisocyanurates the redox potential might be a better indicator for the microbicidal potency than the free chlorine concentration determined with the FAS-DPD method.

Albumins↗
PubMed1985

Mycobacteria in semi-public swimming-pools and whirlpools.

The presence, densities and species distribution of atypical mycobacteria were assayed in samples from swimming-pools in semi-public areas (hotels, recreational parks and camping grounds) and from whirlpools (in sauna institutes, fitness clubs and recreational parks). Tap water used to supply these pools was also investigated. Mycobacteria were frequently detected in all types of samples, the numbers in whirlpools on the average being about ten times higher than those in swimming-pools and tap water. Mycobacterium gordonae was the predominant species in all samples. Special attention was given to the possible presence of opportunistic pathogenic mycobacteria. M. marinum was not detected in any of the samples; M. kansasii was recovered 3 times from whirlpools only. M. avium and the M. fortuitum-M. chelonei complex were found in both types of pool samples but in highest densities in whirlpools. Mycobacterial densities exhibited a significantly negative association with the concentration of hypochlorous acid-1.0 mg/l being required to assure low levels in the bathing water. There was also a negative association with redox potential but positive associations with total aerobic colony count at 37 degrees C, ammonium and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (in swimming-pools only). No association was found with temperature, potassium permanganate consumption, total coliforms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus.

Mycobacterium↗
PubMed2005

Effects of medium-pressure UV lamps radiation on water quality in a chlorinated indoor swimming pool.

The aim of our study was to determine the impact of medium-pressure UV lamps radiation on water quality in a chlorinated indoor swimming pool. An indoor swimming pool was equipped with two medium-pressure UV lamps. We collected eight samples of water daily over a four-weeks period and measured total and free chlorine, pH, water temperature, bacteriological parameters, total organic carbon and trihalomethanes. During the first week, which served as control, medium-pressure UV lamps were turned off. During the next three weeks, medium-pressure UV lamps were kept on 24 h per day. The third week, we reduced the level of the injected chlorine into water, and the last week we also reduced the water renewal volume by 27%. Our results showed that bacteriological parameters remained within allowable french limits. When medium-pressure UV lamps were kept on, total, free and active chlorine levels were significantly increased (P<0.001), whereas combined chlorine level were significantly decreased (P<0.001 and P<0.05, respectively). The levels of chloroform and bromodichloromethane were significantly increased when medium-pressure UV lamps were kept on (P<0.001), whereas chlorodibromomethane and bromoform levels significantly decreased (P<0.05 and P<0.001, respectively). The additional formation of chloroform and bromodichloromethane may be explained by the increase in active chlorine and by radicalizing mechanisms initiated by UV radiation.

Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated↗
PubMed2003

Benefits of swimming pools in two remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia: intervention study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the health impact of swimming pools built with the aim of improving quality of life and reducing high rates of pyoderma and otitis media. DESIGN: Intervention study assessing prevalence of ear disease and skin infections before and at six monthly intervals after opening of swimming pools. SETTING: Two remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. PARTICIPANTS: 84 boys and 78 girls aged < 17 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in prevalence and severity of pyoderma and perforation of tympanic membranes with or without otorrhoea over 18 months after opening of pools. RESULTS: In community A, 61 children were seen before the pool was opened, and 41, 46, and 33 children were seen at the second, third, and fourth surveys. Equivalent figures for community B were 60, 35, 39, and 45. Prevalence of pyoderma declined significantly from 62% to 18% in community A and from 70% to 20% in community B during the 18 months after the pools opened. Over the same period, prevalence of severe pyoderma fell from 30% to 15% in community A and from 48% to 0% in community B. Prevalence of perforations of the tympanic membrane fell from 32% in both communities to 13% in community A and 18% in community B. School attendance improved in community A. CONCLUSION: Swimming pools in remote communities were associated with reduction in prevalence of pyoderma and tympanic membrane perforations, which could result in long term benefits through reduction in chronic disease burden and improved educational and social outcomes.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed2000

Evaluation of the health risk associated with exposure to chloroform in indoor swimming pools.

The exposure of swimmers to chloroform (CHCl3) was investigated in indoor swimming pools of the Quebec City region along with the associated carcinogenic risk. Six training sessions involving 52 competition swimmers (11 to 20 yr old) were conducted in 3 different pools, while 12 adult leisure swimmers attended 5 sessions, each held in a different pool. For each session, water and ambient air CHCl3 concentrations were measured and CHCl3 levels in alveolar air samples (CHCl3 ALV) collected from swimmers prior to entering the swimming pool premises and after 15, 35, and 60 min of swimming. Mean water concentrations varied from 18 microg/L to 80 microg/L, while those in air ranged from 78 microg/m3 to 329 microg/m3. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that CHCl3 ALV values in competition swimmers were strongly correlated to ambient air and water levels, and to a lesser degree to the intensity of training. Only ambient air concentration was positively correlated to CHCl3 ALV in the leisure group. Concentrations of CHCl3 metabolites bound to hepatic and renal macromolecules, estimated using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model, were 1.6 and 1.9 times higher for the competition swimmers than for the leisure swimmers, respectively. The highest hepatic concentration predicted in competition swimmers, 0.22 microg CHCl3 equivalents/kg of tissue, was at least 10,000 times lower than the smallest no observed effect level for liver tumors in animals. Data indicate that the safety margin is therefore very large, for competitive swimmers as well as for leisure swimmers.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chloroform in alveolar air of individuals attending indoor swimming pools.

Alveolar air samples were collected from 163 subjects at indoor swimming pools and from 77 nonexposed subjects. Chloroform was present in all samples collected from exposed subjects (median = 695.02 nmol/m3). It was found at very low levels in 53% of samples from nonexposed subjects. Alveolar air chloroform levels from people attending indoor swimming pools (mean value within each sampling session) were correlated with environmental air concentration (r = 0.907, p = .002). Analysis of variance showed that levels of chloroform in alveolar air depend on environmental air concentration, age, intensity of the sport activity, and kind of swimming. Chloroform levels in samples collected from competitive swimmers versus nonswimming visitors were different (F = 10.911, p = .001). Moreover, their pattern of swimming may affect chloroform concentration in alveolar air. The analysis of chloroform in alveolar air assesses indoor exposure in healthy subjects simply and at low cost.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Risk of infection associated with microbiological quality of public swimming pools in Bologna, Italy.

Twelve public swimming pools in Bologna (Emilia-Romagna region, Italy) were investigated for the microbiological quality of water and surfaces of the pool edges, showers and changing rooms. At the same time a cross-sectional study was carried out on the health of 238 users (bathers) compared with 238 controls who practised sports other than swimming. Data regarding duration and frequency of exposure, behaviour and recent medical history were gathered by means of a questionnaire. All participants also underwent a medical examination. Compliance of the pool water to the microbiological standards set by Italian regulations was generally good; compliance was total when free chlorine residual was within the recommended limits. However, when analysis was extended to the various surfaces, potentially pathogenic bacteria such as P. aeruginosa and C. albicans were isolated. Eye burning and diarrhoea were the only declared symptoms and verrucas the only diagnosed disease showing statistically significant differences between bathers and controls. Verrucas tended to increase in proportion to exposure. Athlete's foot had a very high prevalence among both bathers (34 %) and controls (27.3%) and controls (27%). The environmental and epidemiological investigations both confirmed the risk of infection, mainly associated with the contamination of surfaces.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Outbreak of cryptosporidiosis linked to an indoor swimming pool.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent and source of a community outbreak of cryptosporidiosis. DESIGN: Questionnaire-based survey and matched case-control study. SETTING: Sutherland area in southern Sydney, September 1994 to January 1995. PARTICIPANTS: 70 patients reported by pathology laboratories to have stool specimens positive for cryptosporidia, of whom 43 were surveyed; 35 were compared with age- and neighbourhood-matched controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic characteristics and potential risk factors in the two weeks before onset of illness. RESULTS: Laboratories reported 70 cases of cryptosporidiosis between September 1994 and January 1995. We found no association between illness and foods consumed or contact with people with diarrhoea or sick animals in the two weeks before onset. Seventeen of the case group (49%) reported swimming in a particular indoor swimming pool, compared with only seven controls (20%) (odds ratio, 3.7; P = 0.015). Cryptosporidial oocysts were detected in water from the swimming pool in January 1995. CONCLUSIONS: The outbreak of cryptosporidiosis was probably associated with ingestion of water from the indoor swimming pool, presumably contaminated by infected bathers. RECOMMENDATIONS: As it is difficult to eradicate cryptosporidia from swimming pools by either disinfection or filtration, we recommend that: People with recent diarrhoea should avoid public swimming pools; and Non-toilet-trained and faecally incontinent swimmers should be provided with alternative swimming facilities with separate water and filtration systems. To enable appropriate public health responses: Doctors and pathology laboratories should consider cryptosporidiosis in patients with diarrhoea lasting longer than three days; and Laboratory reporting of cryptosporidia to local health departments should be mandatory in all States and Territories.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

[Swimming pool dermatoses].

Diseases of the skin related to the use of swimming pools do not appear very often in medical reports. In this review of such diseases we designate changes in the skin and hair as being infectious, toxic or allergic in origin. Particular attention is given to allergenic additives in the water. There is no indication that public swimming pools in the Federal Republic of Germany present any danger to the skin.

Chlorine↗
PubMed2004

Cryptosporidium and Giardia in swimming pools in the Netherlands.

The occurrence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in indoor swimming pools in the Netherlands was studied at five locations. The backwash water from seven pool filters was analysed for the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts for a period of 1 year. Of the 153 samples of filter backwash water analysed, 18 (11.8%) were found positive for either Cryptosporidium (4.6%), Giardia (5.9%) or both (1.3%). Oocysts and cysts were also detected in the water of one toddler pool and one learner pool. Although most of the (oo)cysts in the filter backwash water were dead, viable and potentially infectious oocysts were detected in the learner pool. On the basis of numbers of potentially infectious (oo)cysts detected in the learner pool, and assuming one visit to an infected pool per year, risk assessment indicated an estimated risk of infection with Cryptosporidium that exceeded the generally accepted risk of one infection per 10,000 persons per year. Guidelines for pool operators on how to manage faecal accidents and public information on the importance of hygiene in swimming pool complexes are recommended tools in controlling the risk of infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Risks of drowning in fenced and unfenced domestic swimming pools.

A method for estimating the risks of drowning in fenced and unfenced domestic swimming pools is presented. Application of this method suggests that the probability of drowning occurring in an unfenced pool is between two to five times higher than that of a fenced pool. It is also estimated that the introduction of pool fencing would reduce the number of drownings in domestic swimming pools by 40% to 67%.

Child↗
PubMed2006

Ecological association between childhood asthma and availability of indoor chlorinated swimming pools in Europe.

BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesised that the rise in childhood asthma in the developed world could result at least in part from the increasing exposure of children to toxic chlorination products in the air of indoor swimming pools. OBJECTIVES: Ecological study to evaluate whether this hypothesis can explain the geographical variation in the prevalence of asthma and other atopic diseases in Europe. METHODS: The relationships between the prevalences of wheezing by written or video questionnaire, of ever asthma, hay fever, rhinitis, and atopic eczema as reported by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), and the number of indoor chlorinated swimming pools per inhabitant in the studied centres were examined. Associations with geoclimatic variables, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, and several other lifestyle indicators were also evaluated. RESULTS: Among children aged 13-14 years, the prevalence of wheezing by written questionnaire, of wheezing by video questionnaire, and of ever asthma across Europe increased respectively by 3.39% (95% CI 1.96 to 4.81), 0.96% (95% CI 0.28 to 1.64), and 2.73% (95% CI 1.94 to 3.52), with an increase of one indoor chlorinated pool per 100 000 inhabitants. Similar increases were found when analysing separately centres in Western or Northern Europe and for ever asthma in Southern Europe. In children aged 6-7 years (33 centres), the prevalence of ever asthma also increased with swimming pool availability (1.47%; 95% CI 0.21 to 2.74). These consistent associations were not found with other atopic diseases and were independent of the influence of altitude, climate, and GDP per capita. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of childhood asthma and availability of indoor swimming pools in Europe are linked through associations that are consistent with the hypothesis implicating pool chlorine in the rise of childhood asthma in industrialised countries.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Cerebral air embolism in asthmatic scuba divers in a swimming pool.

Significant shallow-water injuries can occur in scuba divers, even in swimming pools. Two asthmatic patients are presented who sustained cerebral air emboli during Scuba classes in a swimming pool. Such injuries may be more common in asthmatics. Asthma is a contraindication to Scuba diving.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Faecal pollution of ocean swimming pools and stormwater outlets in eastern Sydney.

We determined the levels of faecal contamination over a three-year period from 1991 to 1993 at selected ocean swimming pools and stormwater outlets to assess whether these levels represented a threat to public health. Three popular ocean swimming pools and three nearby stormwater outlets located in Sydney's eastern suburbs were included in the analysis. The ocean swimming pools consistently had elevated levels of faecal coliform bacteria; the highest microbe levels were observed in a pool used largely by children. Faecal coliform bacteria counts in the ocean pools at times reach levels likely to be associated with illness in bathers. Stormwater outlets at three locations had reducing counts over the three-year period. An improved system of sampling, testing and risk communication appears to be needed to reduce potential health risks to users of these popular ocean pools.

Colony Count, Microbial↗
PubMed1987

Cholinergic receptor blockade produces impairments in a sensorimotor subsystem for place navigation in the rat: evidence from sensory, motor, and acquisition tests in a swimming pool.

Studies have shown that central cholinergic receptor blockade biases the behavior of rats so that they make less use of the sensorimotor behaviors that are normally used to orient to the relational properties of distal cues and that they simultaneously become more reliant on proximal cues. In Experiment 1, control rats and rats treated with atropine sulfate or atropine methyl nitrate (50 mg/kg) were trained to escape to a visible platform from different starting points in a swimming pool. All groups learned the task by concomitantly developing position responses, by orienting according to room cues, and by orienting to the platform, but probe trials showed that the atropine-sulfate group made more use of the platform as a local cue and made less use of distal cues than did the other groups. The atropine-sulfate group also made fewer searches during acquisition, made fewer searches when the platform was removed on probe trials, and were less responsive to novel cues placed above and around the pool. Swim speed, as estimated by the distance swum on probe trials, was also greater in atropine-sulfate-treated rats. The postulate that rats treated with atropine sulfate preferentially guide swimming by using position responses and local cues was tested in Experiment 2 by comparing their performance with that of control rats in a place task in which a target platform was hidden (no local cues present) and in a similar place task in which the target platform was visible, as was a second incorrect platform that sank when climbed upon (two competing local cues present). Although both tasks were acquired by the control and drugged rats, the two-platform task, as predicted, was comparatively more difficult for the atropine-treated rats. These results suggest that one effect of central cholinergic blockade is to impair the use of a sensorimotor subsystem used for place navigation.

Animals↗