Operation Water Watch: CPSC Kicks Off Its Annual Water Safety Campaign

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is kicking off its annual ""Operation Water Watch"" campaign, an information and education program designed to educate parents of young children and pool and spa owners about aquatic safety. This education campaign to reduce the tragic losses from drownings and near-drownings and diving accidents, is targeted for the summer when many drowning and diving accidents occur.

Water and children can be a fun, enjoyable and healthy combination as long as a few simple safety rules are followed to prevent drowning and near drownings. Adult supervision, pool and spa barriers with self- latching and self-closing gates, and a knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) will help provide a safe and fun environment for everyone. Drownings account for over 300 deaths annually of children under age five in residential swimming pools and spas. The typical drowning victim is male between 1 and 3 years of age.

Parents and caregivers can protect young children from drowning and near drowning by providing layers of barriers between the house and the pool or spa. CPSC has developed a model code for barriers for residential swimming pools and spas. This model code recommends that residential pools and spas have at least the following:

-Fence or barrier at least four-feet high completely surrounding the pool or spa; if the house is part of the barrier, the doors to the pool should be protected with an alarm or the pool should have an ASTM approved power safety cover.

-Self-closing and self-latching gates, with the self- latching mechanism out of reach of young children.

-Vertical slats less than 4 inches apart.

-A chain link fence must not have openings larger than 1 3/4 inches, to prevent young children from climbing the fence. Other fences and barriers should have no footholds or handholds that help a child climb it.

The CPSC model code for residential swimming pools and spas has been adopted by the four major model building code organizations in the country. CPSC staff, local drowning prevention coalitions, industry groups and building code officials have all participated in the process of residential pool barrier code adoption.

Child drownings occur in places other than residential pools and spas. CPSC warns that young children can drown in very small amounts of water. CPSC has reports of more than 300 children since 1973 who drowned in:

-bathtubs

-basins

-showers

-jetted bathtubs

In addition to these household hazards, there are, on the average, 50 drownings a year of young children in large shipping buckets, mostly five gallon size. More than 200 children drowned in these buckets since 1984. CPSC warns parents, guardians and babysitters to empty buckets after each use. A young child can drown in as little as two inches of water. While a bucket is in use, do not leave it unattended when young children are around, because a child could topple into the bucket and drown.

Safe diving habits can prevent accidents which can occur when swimmers hit the bottom of a pool, resulting in severe spinal cord injury and paralysis. The old adage "LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP" is still as valid as ever. Many recreational swimmers are seriously injured each year as a result of diving into shallow areas of lakes, ponds, streams, or swimming pools. The typical victim of a diving accident is a young male, between the ages of 13 and 33. Statistically more than 50 percent of all diving accidents involve alcohol. The conclusion is: DO NOT DRINK AND DIVE! Operation Water Watch is all of us spreading the word about good aquatic safety sense. This information is extremely important, as drowning is a leading cause of death in the home to children under the age of five. Children must be supervised at all times around all bodies of water, including pools, spas, lakes, rivers, bathtubs, and buckets.

The Commission's objective is to reduce the estimated 28.5 million injuries and 21,600 deaths associated each year with the 15,000 different types of consumer products under CPSC's jurisdiction.