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Having spent more than a decade designing water treatment technology, including for swimming pools, this lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Life Sciences and Chemical Technology knows full well about the impurities that make their way into these pools.
These include saliva, urine and other body waste, besides solid particles such as dirt, leaves, bandages, and sometimes, cockroaches.
The problem, however, lies in the amount of pollutants that can be found. Experts caution that too much ammonia, for example, and it can react with chemicals in the pool to cause respiratory problems and eye irritation.
“The main sources of ammonia in swimming pools are brought by swimmers: Urine, body waste and also mucus liquid. These are the main contaminants, which contribute to the increase in ammonia concentration,” Mr Sathananthan said.
His concerns may not be unfounded. Earlier this year, Canadian researchers figured out a way to measure the amount of urine in swimming pools, and what they found after collecting samples from 31 pools was startling.
More at
Our public swimming pools: How clean are they?
These include saliva, urine and other body waste, besides solid particles such as dirt, leaves, bandages, and sometimes, cockroaches.
The problem, however, lies in the amount of pollutants that can be found. Experts caution that too much ammonia, for example, and it can react with chemicals in the pool to cause respiratory problems and eye irritation.
“The main sources of ammonia in swimming pools are brought by swimmers: Urine, body waste and also mucus liquid. These are the main contaminants, which contribute to the increase in ammonia concentration,” Mr Sathananthan said.
His concerns may not be unfounded. Earlier this year, Canadian researchers figured out a way to measure the amount of urine in swimming pools, and what they found after collecting samples from 31 pools was startling.
More at
Our public swimming pools: How clean are they?
