Teh One Who Knocks
03-02-2017, 12:38 PM
By Shaun Woller - Heat Street
http://i.imgur.com/kON3o25h.jpg
Swimming pools can contain more than 60 liters of urine, a study has shown.
All 31 pools and hot tubs tested in sports centers, hotels and private homes in Canada had wee.
The average swimmer passed 70ml — about one-fifth of a typical soft drink can, experts found.
The wee itself is sterile but reacts with disinfectant chemicals in the water — such as chlorine — to form harmful byproducts.
These have been shown to cause eye irritation and respiratory problems, such as asthma. Extended exposure has also been linked to bladder cancer.
British swimmer Rebecca Adlington and Americans Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps are among Olympic gold medal winners who admit having peed in the pool.
A fifth of amateurs have done so at least once, previous surveys reveal.
The researchers, from the University of Alberta, in Canada, examined the water for an artificial sweetener used in a range of foods and drinks that passes straight through the body and is passed in urine.
Concentrations of the sweetener — named acesulfame-K — were up to 570 times higher in the pool water than that taken fresh from a tap.
Study leader Lindsay Blackstock said: “The high concentration of acesulfame-K, with 100 per cent occurrence in pools and hot tubs, demonstrates the human impact on recreational water quality.
“Human urinary input into swimming pools is a public health concern, although urine itself is sterile.
“Urine contains many nitrogenous compounds such as urea, ammonia, amino acids, and creatinine.
“These compounds can react with disinfectants in swimming pools to form disinfection byproducts.
“Exposure to volatile disinfection byproducts, specifically trichloramine, in indoor swimming facilities can lead to eye and respiratory irritation and has been linked to occupational asthma.
“Although considered a taboo, 19 per cent of adults have admitted to having urinated in a swimming pool at least once.”
She added: “We want to use this study to promote public education on appropriate swimming hygiene practices.
“We should all be considerate of others and make sure to exit the pool to use the rest room when nature calls.”
Kids are often told a coloured cloud will appear in the water if they pee while swimming but no such indicator dye exists.
Adlington, who has won two Olympic golds, told her fellow contestants on reality TV show I’m A Celebrity “I always pee in the pool.
“You have two hours in there, you can’t get out. Everyone does it. If you’re full on training you cannot get out. You’ve just got to go.”
Phelps, the most-decorated Olympian of all time, with 28 medals, said previously: “I think everybody pees in the pool. It’s kind of a normal thing to do for swimmers.
“When we’re in the water for two hours, we don’t really get out to pee. Chlorine kills it so it’s not bad.”
And Lochte, when asked if he had ever peed in the water, said: “Of course. We always do.
“I think there’s just something about getting into chlorine water that you just automatically go.”
The study is published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters.
http://i.imgur.com/kON3o25h.jpg
Swimming pools can contain more than 60 liters of urine, a study has shown.
All 31 pools and hot tubs tested in sports centers, hotels and private homes in Canada had wee.
The average swimmer passed 70ml — about one-fifth of a typical soft drink can, experts found.
The wee itself is sterile but reacts with disinfectant chemicals in the water — such as chlorine — to form harmful byproducts.
These have been shown to cause eye irritation and respiratory problems, such as asthma. Extended exposure has also been linked to bladder cancer.
British swimmer Rebecca Adlington and Americans Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps are among Olympic gold medal winners who admit having peed in the pool.
A fifth of amateurs have done so at least once, previous surveys reveal.
The researchers, from the University of Alberta, in Canada, examined the water for an artificial sweetener used in a range of foods and drinks that passes straight through the body and is passed in urine.
Concentrations of the sweetener — named acesulfame-K — were up to 570 times higher in the pool water than that taken fresh from a tap.
Study leader Lindsay Blackstock said: “The high concentration of acesulfame-K, with 100 per cent occurrence in pools and hot tubs, demonstrates the human impact on recreational water quality.
“Human urinary input into swimming pools is a public health concern, although urine itself is sterile.
“Urine contains many nitrogenous compounds such as urea, ammonia, amino acids, and creatinine.
“These compounds can react with disinfectants in swimming pools to form disinfection byproducts.
“Exposure to volatile disinfection byproducts, specifically trichloramine, in indoor swimming facilities can lead to eye and respiratory irritation and has been linked to occupational asthma.
“Although considered a taboo, 19 per cent of adults have admitted to having urinated in a swimming pool at least once.”
She added: “We want to use this study to promote public education on appropriate swimming hygiene practices.
“We should all be considerate of others and make sure to exit the pool to use the rest room when nature calls.”
Kids are often told a coloured cloud will appear in the water if they pee while swimming but no such indicator dye exists.
Adlington, who has won two Olympic golds, told her fellow contestants on reality TV show I’m A Celebrity “I always pee in the pool.
“You have two hours in there, you can’t get out. Everyone does it. If you’re full on training you cannot get out. You’ve just got to go.”
Phelps, the most-decorated Olympian of all time, with 28 medals, said previously: “I think everybody pees in the pool. It’s kind of a normal thing to do for swimmers.
“When we’re in the water for two hours, we don’t really get out to pee. Chlorine kills it so it’s not bad.”
And Lochte, when asked if he had ever peed in the water, said: “Of course. We always do.
“I think there’s just something about getting into chlorine water that you just automatically go.”
The study is published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters.