Pool Alarms (Last Updated 04/04/2007)
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff is supporting voluntary standards activities related to pool alarms for residential swimming pools and spas. Types of pool alarms covered by the voluntary standard, ASTM F2208 Standard Specification for Pool Alarms, include surface alarms, subsurface alarms, perimeter alarms, and personal immersion alarms.
Approximately 280 children under 5 years old drown in pools each year nationwide and an additional 2,200 are treated in hospital emergency rooms for submersion incidents. Most of the incidents involve residential pools. Additionally, CPSC staff is aware of an average of 21 deaths per year (for 2003-2005) associated with portable pools involving children under 10 years old.
CPSC staff is working with ASTM International to revise the test procedures in the standard to address repeatability and consistency of test results.
Additional Information
Safety Alerts:
Press Releases:
Fact Sheets:
Voluntary Standard Activities:
Correspondence to ASTM International, January 24, 2007 Re: CPSC staff testing of pool alarms
CPSC Staff Reports, Memoranda and Contracts:
Contact ASTM International:
For further information concerning ASTM F2208, Standard Specification for Pool Alarms, contact Kathie Morgan at kmorgan@astm.org or ASTM International at http://www.astm.org
Contact CPSC
For additional information or to comment, please contact cpsc-os@cpsc.gov
Join a voluntary standards Email Subscription List
