WEBVTT - How Hazardous Is Peeing in the Pool?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren boge ol bamb Here. With summer fast

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<v Speaker 1>approaching here in the United States, we need to talk

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<v Speaker 1>about swimming pools and the dirty secret of swimmers peeing

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<v Speaker 1>in the pool. It's not just gross, according to the

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<v Speaker 1>American Chemical Society, it's bad for our health. Research has

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<v Speaker 1>shown that there are about thirty to eighty million liters

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<v Speaker 1>of urine per person in public pools. That's about one

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<v Speaker 1>to three ounces, or about a shot glassful per person.

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<v Speaker 1>To counteract the urine and other stuff that winds up

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<v Speaker 1>in the water like sweat, saliva, dirt, and traces of

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<v Speaker 1>fecal matter, we add chemical disinfectants to keep pools clear

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<v Speaker 1>and clean and to keep us from picking up bugs

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<v Speaker 1>like salmonella and equally, and those disinfectants are doing their job,

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<v Speaker 1>but unfortunately that's not all they're doing. Those disinfectants can

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<v Speaker 1>react with urine, sweat, hair and body care products, and

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<v Speaker 1>other organic matter that winds up in pools and create

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<v Speaker 1>what researchers call dis infection by products or DBPs. These

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<v Speaker 1>byproducts can cause serious health concerns, especially for professional swimmers

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<v Speaker 1>and people who work around pools. Chronic inhalation of DBPs

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<v Speaker 1>can cause respiratory problems such as asthma and are the

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<v Speaker 1>main reason for the red burning eyes you may experience

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<v Speaker 1>in the pool. And the number one culprit is you

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<v Speaker 1>guessed it, urine, which causes half of the dvps found

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<v Speaker 1>in pools and the air around them. Urine contains uria,

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<v Speaker 1>a chemical that reacts with chlorine to form trichloramine, the

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<v Speaker 1>compound that makes a pool smell like a pool. You'll

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<v Speaker 1>never enjoy that smell again. It's also the one to

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<v Speaker 1>blame for eyeburn and respiratory issues, a real problem for

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<v Speaker 1>competitive swimmers who spend so much time in the water.

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<v Speaker 1>But cutting down on DBPs is tough, since urinating in

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<v Speaker 1>the pool is something almost everyone does. It's just easier

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<v Speaker 1>than getting out to take a leak, and people mistakenly

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<v Speaker 1>think the chlorine will just take care of it. Even

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<v Speaker 1>Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps and Ryan Locktey joke about

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<v Speaker 1>their pool peeing. Ernest Blatchley, and environmental engineer Purdue University,

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<v Speaker 1>said in an article in Chemical and Engineering News, high

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<v Speaker 1>profile swimmers have a real opportunity to take a position

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<v Speaker 1>of leadership and responsibility. The best thing that swimmers could

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<v Speaker 1>do to improve the swimming environment for themselves and for

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<v Speaker 1>everybody else who uses the pool is to practice common

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<v Speaker 1>sense hygiene. That means first, taking a shower before getting

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<v Speaker 1>into the pool to rinse off much of the dirt, sweat,

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<v Speaker 1>and lotion our bodies carry around. And second, but most important,

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<v Speaker 1>don't p in the pool. But what about the ocean?

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<v Speaker 1>Phish p there, so why not humans? Right? Well, you're

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<v Speaker 1>in luck. It's absolutely a okay to swim and p

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<v Speaker 1>with the fishes. Today's episode was written by Karen Kirkpatrick

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<v Speaker 1>and produced by Tyler Clang. The brain Stuff is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on

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<v Speaker 1>this and lots of other sort of gross but important topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit our home planet how stuff Works dot com. And

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