For many kids, the smell of a chlorine pool triggers
immediate sensations of joy because it means that soon they’ll be one with
water, swimming and splashing and having a blast. But, those telltale fumes
could also potentially trigger a whole
lot more, like asthma.
A 2006 Belgian study showed that use of indoor chlorine
pools especially by children younger than 7 promotes the development of childhood asthma. More disturbing
still, the researchers found that the kids who swam most frequently had
proteins associated with increased risk of
asthma at levels similar to those found in regular smokers.
While initial assumptions were that indoor pools posed a
greater threat than outdoor, a study released by the European Respiratory
Society demonstrated that even regular use of outdoor chlorinated pools
significantly increased the risk of developing asthma.
More studies are needed indeed, but we do know that when
chlorinated water comes into contact with hair, body products, sweat, saliva,
or urine (regular ingredients at the public pool) it creates certain volatile
disinfection by-products like chloroform (which is potentially carcinogenic and
over time causes liver and kidney damage) and bromodichloromethane (which,
again, has been linked to cancer and liver and kidney damage in animal
studies).
What can you do to
protect your kid’s health from chlorine fumes?
- Head to the beach.
- Limit (but don’t feel compelled to eliminate) swimming in indoor chlorine pools, especially if it’s your only option.
- Select pools with strict rules about bathing before swimming (and do your part to help keep them clean).
- Select less used pools or swim at times when there are fewer people there.
- Talk to management about the ventilation system, how often the pool is emptied (decreasing the organic materials that create the disinfection by-products), and options for safer maintenance.
- If you have your own pool, keep it chlorine-free.