The risk associated with a filtration system depends upon the quality of the equipment employed. In order to reduce the risk associated with the shell, flanges, laterals etc the filter should comply with a quality standard and regulations German swimming pool standards DIN 19643 and DIN 19605 The standards do not permit a lateral arrangement, nozzle should be used with a nozzle plate or a nozzle pipe arrangement must be used Construction of vessel is in accordance to British Standards BS4994 and German regulations AD-Merkblatt 2000 for wall thickness Filters should comply with and be provided with a pressure test certificate Filters to be installed and operated in accordance with DIN standard regulation, Manhole access in accordance British Standards BS 470 states minimum diameter is 460mm for persons wearing air-line breathing apparatus
Filter shell Hazard associated with a failure of the shell or pressure fitting under pressure. The filter may be under a considerable pressure, if a filter were to catastrophically fail, the expelled components may cause physical injury or death. The plant room may also flood, leading to a risk of drowning Collectors Failure of the collector system leading to the discharge of filter media into the pool. There is an abrasion risk associate with rubbing against the filter media. The media can contain millions of bacteria, protozoa, parasites etc per gram, there is therefore a risk to the public from contracting a disease or infection arising from a failed collector system. |
| A range of different types of filter media are now available for the swimming pool industry. The Risk Analysis is not a measurement of how appropriate a media is for a specific application but rather what risk there is associated with the media in the application. There three aspects to the associated risk. 1. a risk to the maintenance company in filling the filters, 2., risk to public water quality operational risks, and 3. risk to the public associate with loss of media from the filter which enters the pool. | Filter media | Risk associate with filter media | | | 1. Risk to maintenance company | 2. Public risk from water quality issues | 3. Risk to public from failed collectors with media entering the pool | | | Dust, silicosis | water quality (trichloramines & respiratory issues) | Bacteria and infectious organisms | abrasion risk to public from media in pool | Bacteria and infectious organisms | Risk score | | AFM® | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | | Sand | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | | Zeolite | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 | | Activated carbon | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 14 | | | | | | | | |
Risk index, 1= low to no risk, 2 = medium risk, 3 = high risk 4 = very high risk Perceived risk associated with AFM® External, skin abrasion & cuts, eyes AFM® is manufactured from glass as the raw material. AFM® has been certified for use in Drinking Water by the Secretary of State for the UK under Regulation 31 of the Drinking Water Inspectorate. As part of the procedure a an in-depth Risk Analysis was conducted by an independent authority and submitted to the UK Government Regulator. The analysis concluded that AFM® represented a lower risk to the public than sand. AFM® particles are sub-angular and will cause no harm, however the media does pose an abrasion risk similar to sand and zeolites. Internal, injection In then event of a collector system failing a media may be discharged into the pool, there is a small risk that the media will be ingested. There is little to no physical risk from AFM® , sand, zeolites or activated carbon. However if the media has been in the filter for more than two weeks, it will have become colonized by many human pathogenic bacteria, protozoa, viri, parasites, yeast, fungi, nematodes etc, the principle risk is therefore associate with the degree of biological contamination experienced by the media. |
