1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:09,799 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren boge ol bamb Here. With summer fast 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 1: approaching here in the United States, we need to talk 4 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: about swimming pools and the dirty secret of swimmers peeing 5 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,319 Speaker 1: in the pool. It's not just gross, according to the 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: American Chemical Society, it's bad for our health. Research has 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: shown that there are about thirty to eighty million liters 8 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: of urine per person in public pools. That's about one 9 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: to three ounces, or about a shot glassful per person. 10 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:34,919 Speaker 1: To counteract the urine and other stuff that winds up 11 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:37,600 Speaker 1: in the water like sweat, saliva, dirt, and traces of 12 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: fecal matter, we add chemical disinfectants to keep pools clear 13 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: and clean and to keep us from picking up bugs 14 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: like salmonella and equally, and those disinfectants are doing their job, 15 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: but unfortunately that's not all they're doing. Those disinfectants can 16 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: react with urine, sweat, hair and body care products, and 17 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: other organic matter that winds up in pools and create 18 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: what researchers call dis infection by products or DBPs. These 19 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:07,040 Speaker 1: byproducts can cause serious health concerns, especially for professional swimmers 20 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: and people who work around pools. Chronic inhalation of DBPs 21 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: can cause respiratory problems such as asthma and are the 22 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: main reason for the red burning eyes you may experience 23 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: in the pool. And the number one culprit is you 24 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,680 Speaker 1: guessed it, urine, which causes half of the dvps found 25 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,759 Speaker 1: in pools and the air around them. Urine contains uria, 26 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: a chemical that reacts with chlorine to form trichloramine, the 27 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: compound that makes a pool smell like a pool. You'll 28 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 1: never enjoy that smell again. It's also the one to 29 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: blame for eyeburn and respiratory issues, a real problem for 30 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:41,119 Speaker 1: competitive swimmers who spend so much time in the water. 31 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: But cutting down on DBPs is tough, since urinating in 32 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: the pool is something almost everyone does. It's just easier 33 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: than getting out to take a leak, and people mistakenly 34 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 1: think the chlorine will just take care of it. Even 35 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps and Ryan Locktey joke about 36 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: their pool peeing. Ernest Blatchley, and environmental engineer Purdue University, 37 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,200 Speaker 1: said in an article in Chemical and Engineering News, high 38 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: profile swimmers have a real opportunity to take a position 39 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,880 Speaker 1: of leadership and responsibility. The best thing that swimmers could 40 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: do to improve the swimming environment for themselves and for 41 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: everybody else who uses the pool is to practice common 42 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: sense hygiene. That means first, taking a shower before getting 43 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: into the pool to rinse off much of the dirt, sweat, 44 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: and lotion our bodies carry around. And second, but most important, 45 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: don't p in the pool. But what about the ocean? 46 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: Phish p there, so why not humans? Right? Well, you're 47 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: in luck. It's absolutely a okay to swim and p 48 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: with the fishes. Today's episode was written by Karen Kirkpatrick 49 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: and produced by Tyler Clang. The brain Stuff is a 50 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: production of iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on 51 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: this and lots of other sort of gross but important topics, 52 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: visit our home planet how stuff Works dot com. And 53 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: for more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 54 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 55 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: favorite shows.