Swimming Pool Inspectors Interactive Training CD-ROM

This information is provided by the National Center for Environmental Health’s Environmental Health Services Branch ONLY as an historical reference for the public health community. This information is not maintained and may no longer be current and/or accurate.

CDC’s Environmental Health Services Branch has mailed the Volusia County, Florida, Health Department, Environmental Health Division’s Swimming Pools and Spas Interactive Training CD-ROM to more than 4,000 of our partners in local and state environmental health programs.

The CD-ROM is an excellent and innovative tool for training new environmental health personnel and a good review for experienced staff. The 37 lessons include more than 100 videos, computer animations, and detailed 3-D graphics; 470 photos; interactive problem-solving exercises and quizzes; and live links to the CDC Healthy Swimming Web site for additional information and to keep the training material current with the latest information on recreational water illness prevention.

Course content includes

Introduction (historical, modern, public health issues)

Pool design (safety design, construction standards, calculations of volume, recirculation, filtration, construction extras)

Operation (certified pool operators, chemistry record keeping, equipment, troubleshooting)

Other pool types (wading pools, spa pools, water recreation attractions)

Safety (entrapment, the pool deck, inside the pool, safety equipment, CPR, chemical storage, lifeguards and instructors)

Pool chemistry (the basics, the periodic table, chemical properties of water, the halogens in water, the chemistry of chlorine in water, shocking the pool, pH, other testing parameters)

Pool Forms

Inspections (conducting inspections, inspector requirements, enforcement)

Enforcement

Illnesses from recreational water are preventable. Environmental health program personnel who are responsible for overseeing community swimming pools, spas, and other recreational water venues need current information about transmission of diseases in these settings and about proper design and maintenance of these facilities. The application of this information through CDC’s recommended systems approach to preventing illness associated with recreational water will further improve the level of protection.

A June 2003 report (MMWR 2003:52:513-6 [PDF - 2.31 MB]) detailed a significant pattern of noncompliance with critical public health standards at community pools. The thoroughness of recording important data varied during the inspections, limiting a jurisdiction’s ability to track public health prevention trends in recreational water facilities. The training provided in this interactive program is designed to better equip environmental health program personnel to do effective recreational water facility inspections, better explain the key public health safeguards to the operators, and develop partnerships to protect the swimming public.

This training program is based on the experience with some of Florida’s approximately 30,000 public pools and on the specific regulations found in Florida. The principles taught are universal in application.

Additional materials sent with the interactive training CD-ROM included a Cover Letter [PDF - 98 KB] and Revitalization Strategies: Pool Inspections [PDF - 35 KB].

Additional copies of the training CD-ROM are available for purchase from the Volusia County Health Department – Environmental Health.

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