Abstract
The present work shows the evaluation of the decay of free residual chlorine in several public swimming pools in the city of Medellín, observing that a decrease in residual chlorine does occur. Some factors accelerate the decrease in the concentration of free residual chlorine in recreational water, such as the number of bathers in the pool, the pH, and the temperature of the water. For this reason, the concentration of the disinfectant rapidly decreases to an extent that the health of swimmers could be put at risk. The Authority of Health of Medellín carries out inspection, surveillance and quality control activities of water for recreational use. These purposes of these include guaranteeing the reduction of risk factors to the health of the users of said pools.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aprea, M. C., Banchi, B., Lunghini, L., Pagliantini, M., Peruzzi, A., & Sciarra, G. (2010). Disinfection of swimming pools with chlorine and derivatives: formation of organochlorinated and organobrominated compounds and exposure of pool personnel and swimmers. Natural Science, 2(2), 68–78.
Barna, Z., & Kádár, M. (2012). The risk of contracting infectious diseases in public swimming pools. A review. Annali dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 48(4), 343–390.
Brewster, D. H., Brown, M. I., Robertson, D., Houghton, G. L., Bimson, J., & Sharp, J. C. M. (1994). An outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 associated with a children's paddling pool. Epidemiology and Infection, 112, 441–447.
Caslake, L. F., Connolly, D., Menon, V., Duncanson, C. M., Rojas, R., & Tavakoli, J. (2004). Disinfection of contaminated water by using solar irradiation. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 70(2), 1145–1150.
De Laat, J., Feng, W., Freyfer, D. A., & Dossier-Berne, F. (2011). Concentration levels of urea in swimming pool water and reactivity of chlorine with urea. Water Research, 45(3), 1139–1146.
Destiani, R., & Templeton, M. R. (2019). Chlorination and ultraviolet disinfection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in drinking water. AIMS Environmental Science, 6(3), 222–241.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2011). Water treatment manual: disinfection. Ireland: Wexford.
Font-Ribera, L., Villanueva, C. M., Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J., Zock, J. P., Kogevinas, M., & Henderson, J. (2011). Swimming pool attendance, asthma, allergies, and lung function in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 183(5), 582–588.
Hua, P. (2016). Variable reaction rate models for chlorine decay and trihalomethanes formation in drinking and swimming pool waters. Faculty of Environmental Sciences Institute of Urban Water Management: Technischen Universität Dresden (Germany).
Ilyas, H., Masih, I., & Van der Hoek, J. (2018). Disinfection methods for swimming pool water: byproduct formation and control. Water, 10(6), 797–825.
Lara, P., Ramírez, V., Castrillón, F., & Peñuela, G. A. (2020). Presence of disinfection byproducts in public swimming pools in Medellín, Colombia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 4659.
Murphy, J., Hlavsa, M., Carter, B., Miller, C., Jothikumar, N., Gerth, T., Beach, M., & Hill, V. (2018). Pool water quality and prevalence of microbes in filter backwash from metro-Atlanta swimming pools. Journal of Water and Health, 16(1), 87–92.
Pereira, I., Bueno, P., & Dino, E. (2010). Studies on the electrochemical disinfection of water containing Escherichia coli using a dimensionally stable anode. Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology, 53(5), 1235–1244.
Pişkin, B., & Türkün, M. (1995). Stability of various sodium hypochlorite solutions. Journal of Endodontia, 21(5), 253–255.
Rice, E. W., Baird, R. B., & Eaton, A. D. (2017). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (23nd ed.). Washington, D.C: American Public Health Association (APHA), American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Water Environment Federation (WEF).
Wang, L., Bassiri, M., Najafi, R., Najafi, K., Yang, J., Khosrovi, B., Hwong, W., Barati, E., Belisle, B., Celeri, C., & Robson, M. C. (2007). Hypochlorous acid as a potential wound care agent. Journal of Burns Wounds., 6, e5.
White, G. C. (1986). Handbook of chlorination (2nd ed.). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.
Wyczarska-Kokot, J., Lempart-Rapacewicz, A., & Dudziak, M. (2020). Analysis of free and combined chlorine concentrations in swimming pool water and an attempt to determine a reliable water sampling point. Water, 12, 311.
Acknowledgments
To the Municipality of Medellín and the GDCON group of the University of Antioquia for financing the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Oviedo, L., Lopera, L., Lara, P.A. et al. Monitoring of chlorine decay in public swimming pools in Medellín (Colombia). Environ Monit Assess 193, 10 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08779-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08779-0