17-percent-of-people-pee-in-swimming-pools-a/251.htmA graphical guide to the prevalence of peeing in poolsAs the good folks at Scientific American recently pointed out in a podcast of theirs - a recent poll from the Water Quality and Health Council found that a full 17 percent of people have relieved themselves in the pool at some point. I don't know if this number shocks you or not, but we figured we'd do some research and make some comparisons to help us understand just how prevalent this is. In case you've wondered what that looks like, I've created this handy graphic below which will help those of you who struggle with reading comprehension to understand this epidemic in a more visual manner.
While we Americans are often picked on for our lack of political awareness, we assumed that a high profile position like being a Supreme Court Justice would make you a bit of a celebrity. As it turns out however, only Clarence Thomas's name is more familiar to the average American than the feeling of coyly unleashing some wee wee in the pool.  So while Ruth Bader Ginsburg may not be very prevalent in the average American's mind, they are most certainly aware of the dreaded TSA body scanners that have been overwhelming the nation's airwaves and political conversations. The backlash has been rather loud against these scanners which many people have found intrusive. As this holiday approaches, a full 13 percent of respondents to a survey said they wouldn't be flying due to the body scanners. For all the coverage this has gotten, one would think this number would be a bit higher, since it basically insinuates more Americans are willing to float about in their own urine than be subjected to a body scan.  The psychology behind our willingness to pee in the pool might be simpler than we thought - perhaps we're just lazy. A report by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine showed that Americans' top physical activities are snacking and cooking. Snacking and cooking! Richard Simmons must be rolling over in his grave (is he dead?). It turns out only five percent of us get any type of frequent vigorous physical activity. So, is it really a surprise that a country full of people who's favorite form of physical activity is eating would be too lazy to simply get out of the pool to use the bathroom? I think not.
What this means So for the 83 percent of us who have decided to keep the pool tinkle free, do we really have that much to worry about? I mean, we've swam in lakes and rivers before (which some of mother nature's critters have undoubtedly used as a restroom) and we lived to tell about it - and rivers don't have any chlorine. But what does the science say? Well, one of the key measurements to a chlorinated pool is the FAC, or Free Available Chlorine. As pollutants are added to a pool, the available chlorine works to neutralize these, thereby reducing the FAC against new pollutants. Of course, there are other measures that will make a pool tolerable to swim in (pH, organic material, etc.) but the FAC is the one most important when it comes down to urine. So in essence, it all comes down to how much traffic the pool's getting and how regularly the FAC is kept in check. So while we would never advocate peeing in a pool, if one of your youngsters decides to have a tinkle in a well kept pool, just know it's not the end of the world. We do however suggest following the CDC's guidelines for pool hygiene, which can be found here http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/swimming/index.html.
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