UPDATED APRIL 28, 2012: Drain Covers in Compliance?

We just received notification of this:
Update to Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act

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A recent investigative report by NBC News report looked at anti-entrapment drain covers. All public pools  must be retrofitted with an approved anti-entrapment domed cover, as mandated by The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. The old drain covers have entrapped hundreds of people for several years, causing serious injury and death.


United States Federal law requires pools to have modern, anti-entrapment drain covers covers, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Old-fashioned, flat drain covers can pin even strong swimmers to the bottom of the pool. Pool drains can pack up to 800 pounds of suctional force. If a child gets too close to a drain with a non-compliant cover, his/her hair can become entangled and limbs or other body parts can quickly get sucked in.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act  was designed to prevent the tragic and hidden hazard of drain entrapments and eviscerations in pools and spas.   The law  passed by Congress, was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 19, 2007. The Act mandated that by December 19, 2008 ALL public pools must be retrofitted with an approved anti-entrapment domed drain covers bearing the stamp of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and American National Standards Institute. The specific stamp number is ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007.

Public pools and spas include municipal pools, and those at hotels, resorts, country clubs, homeowners association pools, etc.

Nancy Baker, mother of the late Virginia Graeme Baker, for whom the safety act is named, is worried: "If they don't do it (comply), it will happen (another drain entrapment death). It's just a matter of where it will happen again."

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Inez Tenenbaum stated that for all public pools not in compliance with the safety act should not open.  She further stated "...compliance is mandatory. There was no grace period. They have to comply with this law now."

State and local officials should be inspecting public pools and spas in their jurisdictions and enforcing the requirement because it is a federal law. US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is empowered to implement and enforce the requirements of the P&SS Act.   If you have any doubts about the pool's compliance, check with the city or county health department. (If you find that it is not in compliance Contact the US Consumer Product Safety Commission

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. In addition to pool and spa safety, the CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.


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