Chlorine contamination in different points of pool – risk analysis for bathers’ health

Abstract

The pool water treatment and disinfection plant fulfills its task only if the hydraulic system cooperates with the appropriate pool basin geometry. Water flow through the pool can cause “dead” zones not involved in circulation. In these zones the degree of mixing the disinfectant with water can be different. In consequence, the effectiveness of microorganisms’ deactivation and the health effects on bathers may be different. The physicochemical results of pool water samples taken from the characteristic points of the basin were presented. Attention has been paid to the content of free chlorine and combined chlorine. The study was conducted in two indoor pools, differing in water flow system. Based on the analysis results, chlorine maps for swimming pools were prepared. It has been shown that in order to assess the health risk to bathers samples of water should be collected from representative points of the pool.