Safety Tips for Handling Swimming Pool Chemicals

Lifeguard | January 20, 2020

As a lifeguard, you'll often interact with pool chemicals, and without proper training and knowledge, adding chemicals to a swimming pool can be dangerous. Swimming pool chemicals are responsible for thousands of emergency room visits every year, but knowing about pool chemical safety can help prevent accidents and injuries.

While you've taken chemical safety training as a lifeguard, it's always helpful to have a refresher or share your knowledge about pool chemical safety with others. Below you'll find safety tips for handling swimming pool chemicals that can help save you or others from injury.

What Types of Swimming Pool Chemicals Will You Use as a Lifeguard?

Part of swimming pool chemical safety involves knowledge of the various products you may encounter since different chemicals require different care. Most pool chemicals contain chlorine for disinfection, but other varieties out there serve various purposes. Among those chemicals are:

Bleach, also called sodium hypochlorite
Bromine
Chlorine gas
Sodium hydroxide, also called caustic soda
Sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda
Hydrochloric acid, also called muriatic acid
Calcium chloride
Trisodium phosphate
Cyanuric acid

pool chemicals

The chemicals you use will vary based on what the pool water needs, from disinfection to adjustment of pH or calcium hardness. Adding chemicals to a swimming pool to adjust these levels will certainly lead to exposure, but you may also be exposed to chemicals when you're:

Transporting products
Cleaning spills
Retrieving something from a storage room

You may even be exposed to chemicals through the air around a swimming pool, especially an indoor one. Be aware of your surroundings when you're on duty or around a pool area, and take other precautions to prevent injury to yourself or others.

Common Injuries From Swimming Pool Chemicals

Even if you follow all the pool chemical safety you can, sometimes accidents happen. In any case, know the common injuries from swimming pool chemicals, and be aware of signs from:

Respiratory problems: When you inhale fumes from pool chemicals, you're at risk for injury. Asthma is a common result of frequent exposure to swimming pool chemicals. If you already have asthma or other respiratory issues, you may need to wear a respirator or other breathing aid. Signs of respiratory issues as a result of chemical exposure include a sore throat, coughing, headache, nausea and more. In severe and rare cases, breathing in pool chemicals can lead to lung damage or death.
Eye damage: Exposure to chemicals without proper eye protection may lead to irritation or even damage. Whether chemicals splash into your eyes, the fumes reach your eyes or you rub your eyes after skin exposure to chemicals, you're at risk for injury. Itching, redness and burning are all possible signs of eye damage or injury from chemicals.
Burns: When chemicals come in direct contact with your skin, you risk burns or irritation. Again, itching and redness are signs of this injury, which may come in addition to a burning sensation.
Other issues: You may experience other issues as a result of handling pool chemicals, especially through ingestion. Injuries include burns to your mouth, throat and stomach, nausea, vomiting and possibly death. While ingestion may not be as common as other accidents, it's wise to know all possible injuries and outcomes of working around pool chemicals.

Be sure to speak with your supervisor about any medical issues you have before handling pool chemicals, and seek medical attention if you experience any of the symptoms above or others after handling chemicals.

Things to Do When Handling Swimming Pool Chemicals

Things to do when handling swimming pool chemicals

When lifeguards handle pool chemicals, they should take every possible precaution. That includes making sure to:

Check chemical levels before adjusting: You don't want to add unnecessary chemicals to a pool, as doing so could lead to avoidable injury or an imbalance of chemicals in the water.
Read labels: If you have any doubts about how lifeguards should handle pool chemicals, read the label. Use any recommended equipment or practices for specific products.
Pour slowly: If you add chemicals too quickly to a swimming pool, you risk having the chemicals and water splash up at you. That could lead to chemicals getting on your skin or in your eyes, which could lead to severe injury.
Work in a well-ventilated area: When you can, work outside or in open areas with sufficient ventilation. Wear any respiratory aids when necessary to avoid breathing in harmful fumes.

In addition to those steps, other precautions you should take when handling swimming pool chemicals include:

Adding chemicals when the pool is on and water is circulating
Making sure no swimmers are in the water
Adding the product to the water, never water to the product
Working in stages for large quantities of chemicals
Knowing where emergency showers or eyewash stations are and how to use them

For further safety and protection, wear the appropriate safety gear, such as:

Splash goggles
A face shield
Gloves
Shoes or rubber boots
A respirator
Other protective clothing

Things Not to Do When Handling Swimming Pool Chemicals

Safety tips for handling swimming pool chemicals also include essentials on what not to do. When you're handling or storing pool chemicals, do not:

Have a cluttered storage area: An unorganized storage area can lead to disaster. From spills to trips and falls, clutter can cause avoidable accidents and injuries.
Work in dimly lit areas: If you can't see well while working with chemicals, you risk misreading labels, making measurement errors and experiencing other accidents. You may even spill chemicals since you cannot see, leading to possible injury.
Move chemicals into other storage containers: Manufacturers sell pool chemicals in particular containers for a reason. Whether those containers block out sunlight, air or moisture, they serve a purpose. You don't want chemicals leaching out of a container or being exposed to elements that could impact their effectiveness.
Ignore instructions or procedures: Do not attempt to get a job done quicker or in a different way than instructed. Procedures are in place to keep you and others safe, so be sure to follow them. The only time you should question verbal instruction is if it contradicts what is on a chemical's label.
Handle chemicals without training: Whether you're new on the job or haven't received training for a particular pool chemical, do not attempt to handle these dangerous products without the right knowledge.

Remember to work smart and be cautious. If you have any doubts about how to work with a chemical, consult the label first, then consult others.

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