Identification

• The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning in 1996 that up to that time there had been over 700 reported deaths of adults and children in pools and hot tubs due to entrapment since 1978. Approximately one-third of those accidents involved small children. Pool drains draw water from the pool, which creates suction. If a swimmer's hair or body gets trapped in a drain, the pool's pump increases the amount of suction to clear the obstruction. In extreme cases, a child sitting on a drain in a spa or wading pool can suffer disembowelment.
  
  

Minimum Requirements

• Installing approved main drain covers on all pool drains that are marked ANSI/ASME A112 19.8-2007, is the minimum requirement of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Act, enacted on December 19, 2008. The act is named after Secretary of State James Baker's 7-year-old granddaughter, who died in an entrapment accident at a pool party in 2002.
  
  

Dual Drains

• The Virginia Graeme Baker Act recommends that all commercial pools have dual main drains installed. These drains also must have the approved drain covers. Installation of an unblockable channel drain is only acceptable for pools with single drains. Pools that already have dual drains are required to replace the old drain covers with the new, approved covers.