Wednesday, July 3, 2002
Swimming Pool Inspection -- Follow-up
I got a lot of feedback from Morning Meeting readers about
my suggestion that newspapers and TV stations consider posting swimming poll inspection scores as they do restaurant scores. What better topic for the week of July 4?
Even the CDC says that because water parks and pools are getting increasing traffic, there is a need for new enforcement. Americans make 400 million trips to water facilities each year.
On July 27, 2001, the
Orlando Sentinel's Stephanie Erickson looked into the story and found, "Across Central Florida, people playing in pools and spas at hotels, condominiums, fitness centers, schools and city parks are at risk for a slew of diseases that can cause everything from diarrhea to death.
"An Orlando Sentinel review of more than 4,000 county health-department inspection reports in five counties revealed that 151 pools and 51 spas failed to meet the state's minimum chlorine standards during checks this year.
"More than 100 pools had zero chlorine, the potent weapon that fights bacteria, including the deadly E. coli, a tiny organism that three years ago killed two children infected by it at an Atlanta water park.
"Violators in Central Florida ranged from the spa at the exclusive Wyndham Palace Resort on the grounds of Walt Disney World to the Winter Park High School pool, from a Mount Dora municipal pool in a poor neighborhood to the spa at the tony Paramount Health Club in Orlando.
"In Volusia County, a string of beachfront mom-and-pop motels on Atlantic Avenue flunked, as did the Grand Seas Resort in Daytona Beach, which markets its condominiums as a 'five-star resort.' Inspectors noted the wading pool for children was 'extremely green.'"
Nobody knows how many bathers are getting sick from bacteria in public waters, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta said the numbers are rising. The nation's public-health agency launched a campaign to warn people that communal bathing grounds can breed dangerous microorganisms and spread disease.
"Very few people know that they can get sick from swimming," said Sean Kaufman, health-communications specialist at the CDC's division of parasitic control. "Everybody always thinks it's caused by what they've eaten."
The Orlando paper said inspectors hear a lot of crazy excuses for bad swimming pool management. The paper reported, "..officials said they hear the same explanations from pool operators: rain diluted the water, the chlorinator broke or the pool company did not deliver chemicals on time. In those cases, state officials said, operators should close the pools.
"Others say `The sun burned out the chlorine,' or `I have the chemicals checked twice a week -- what more do you want?' Anderson said. Or they say `What do you need chlorine for? It rots bathing suits.'"
Sixteen mobile-home parks in the five counties flunked the inspection.
I got another interesting note on pools -- this one from Morning Meeting reader Natalie Tysdal, freelance reporter, Dallas, TX who says;
"I spent a lot of time researching the pool maintenance issue last summer after I did a series at WPMI-TV (Mobile, AL) on pools. We bought a very simple pool kit that tests for chlorine. We found that most public and apartment pools were not maintaining the proper chlorine levels. Many didn't even know how to use the testing kit! We took some of the water from these pools to a lab. E-coli was found in one of the pools where hundreds of kids could be found on any given day. Another interesting note that I learned from the story... did you know that when you smell a strong chlorine odor from a pool it is not because the pool is well chlorinated, it is typically urine interacting with the chlorine.
I would advise anyone doing a story like this to go to a pool supply store or maintenance company for help.
I enjoy your daily e-mail!
Zoo Animals Die
As if on cue, last month I suggested you take a look at the mortality rates at your local zoos and aquariums. This morning I read in the SPTimes that 6 kangaroos and 3 wallabies loaded in a rental truck and on their way to the Tampa Lowry Zoo died.
The Fireworks RuseThe
American Pyrotechnics Association predicts a
$50 million increase in fireworks sales this year, to $700 million. Revenue from sales in the United States has doubled in the past 10 years.
The amount of fireworks shot off increased from 67 million pounds to 162 million pounds during the same decade. "Most of that's from consumer purchases, not professional displays," says Julie Heckman, executive director of the national fireworks trade group.
People cross state borders to buy illegal fireworks,
parents let their kids buy fireworks. In Florida fireworks are illegal but people set up roadside stands anyway.
AssignmentEditor.com Mostly Free Again
This is one of the really good sites on the web for journalists. July 1 they cut prices for the premium parts. Run by former WBBM managing editor Jim Lichtenstein.
A Library of Great IdeasWhen is the last time you browsed the
Investigate Reporters and Editors projects database? It is loaded with great stories that you can adopt.
