Suction Entrapment Overview Video

It has been a little over 3 months since the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act went into effect (December 19, 2008). This new US Federal Law is designed to avoid suction entrapment accidents involving adults and children. We have posted frequently about this issue in the past. Many people are still confused and are only considering one of the five forms of entrapment: body entrapment. Hair, limb, evisceration, and mechanical are far more likely to occur and yet most people believe that if "dual drains" or an SVRS is installed, everything is fine.

This is not the case.

In order to meet the new Federal law and the new ASME suction fitting standard, proper flow rate through the cover, proper sump size, and proper fastening hardware must all be considered. Many have used this law to simply "swap plastic" and pool owners and operators need to be aware that neither the state health officials nor the pool companies will be held responsible for pools not in compliance - the law is written such that the pool owner is solely responsible.

While many of our competitive pools fall under these new federal laws, there has been little out there to help us understand how to comply; these videos created by our local pool expert, Ray Cronise, can help everyone understand the basic suction entrapment issues.

Suction Entrapment Overview Video (Pro Pool Inspections/AquaCal)