어제 일어난 일이다. 한 조그만 어린이가 수영장 배수구에 팔이 껴서 거의 익사할 뻔하였다. 이 다섯 살 짜리 아이는 스타 가수 어셔의 아들이었다. 그가 생존한 것이 기적적이었을 만큼 상황은 심각했었다. 어셔의 아들은 수영장 바닥으로 떨어진 장난감을 주으려다 배수구로 거의 빨려들어 가다시피 했다고 한다. 옆에 자리했던 어른 보모가 구하려고 했지만 역부족이었다. 결국 그의 집안에서 일하던 건장한 두 남성에 의해 배수구에 갇힌 아이는 구출되었다. 아이는 현재 입원중이며 차차 회복되고 있다.

수영장 배수구는 아이들 뿐만 아니라 어른들까지도 죽음으로 내몰리게 해왔던 알려지지 않은 위험 중에 하나이다. 흡수력이 매우 강해서 탈출하는 것이 거의 불가능하다.

이와 같은 사례의 연속으로 2007년 공공 수영장이나 스파 시설의 배수구 안전 가이드라인을 확립하는 Virginia Graeme Baker 수영장 및 스파 안전 법안이 국회에서 통과되었다. 법안은 욕조 배수구에 빨려들어가 끝내 구출되지 못해 세상을 떠난 7사 Virginia Graeme Baker의 이름을 따 만들어졌다. 2명의 건장한 남성이 그녀를 구출시켰지만 이미 아이는 구출되기 전 숨을 거둔 상태였다.

It happened yesterday. A small child almost drowned after getting his arm stuck in a pool drain.  The five year old was music star Usher’s son. He was lucky to survive but almost didn’t. The child was attempting to retrieve a toy that had fallen into the pool and sunk to the bottom. An adult caregiver tried to free him from the suction and couldn’t. Two males who were working inside the singer’s house were finally able to pry the boy free of the drain entrapment. He’s now hospitalized, but is expected to recover.

Pool drains are an unknown danger that have killed or injured children as well as adults. The suction can be so strong that there’s no escaping the pull.

In 2007, The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act was passed by Congress to provide public pools and spas safety guidelines for drains. The Act was named after 7 year-old Virginia Graeme Baker who became stuck to a hot tub drain and was not able to pull her-self free. It took 2 grown men to disengage her, but she drowned before they were able to get her released.

Parents or guardians may not be aware that these drains are dangerous. The vacuum effect is powerful enough to hold a child at the bottom of a pool or spa. Contact with a flat drain can create suction equal to hundreds of pounds of pressure. While many parents make sure that their child takes swimming lessons, they fail to mention the dangers of getting too close to a pool drain.

Children’s public wading pools, other pools designed specifically for young children, and in-ground spas that have flat drain grates and single main drain systems pose the greatest risk of entrapment.

The best way to prevent these hazards is to recognize them ahead of time, and to use caution when in a pool or spa. The key entanglement and entrapment hazards include:

- Body: A body part, often the torso or bottom, covers a drain and is held down by the intensity of the suction.

- Hair: Long hair is caught in a faulty drain cover.

- Limbs: Arms, legs, feet or fingers are lodged in a suction opening.

- Mechanical: Jewelry, bathing suits or other materials are entangled in a drain cover.

- Evisceration/disembowelment: When suction draws out the intestines and organs.

Some pool drains are more dangerous than others. If a pool only has one drain, the suction will be greater. These are usually found in older pools. Sometimes the drain cover will come off and a small whirlpool will spin around the hole. If you see a pool in that condition? do not let your child get in.

It’s important to know where the pool shut-off valve or connection is so in case of an emergency, the pool can be shut down.

It’s also possible to install a safety vacuum release system that will shut the pool off when the drain becomes blocked.

Usher’s little boy was fortunate yesterday, but there are many stories of children who were not so lucky. Make sure to inspect any pool your children are going to be in and teach them about staying away from a drain. If a toy or piece of jewelry or anything else gets too close to a pool drain, it’s better to let it be.

[출처: KVUE / 2013년 8월 10일]