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Citation
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American Red Cross' Advisory Council, American Red Cross Advisory Council on First Aid, Aquatics, Safety, and Prevention, Advisory Council on First Aid, Aquatics. Int. J. Aquatic Res. Educ. 2010; 4(2): 223-229. |
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Abstract
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What scientific evidence supports aquatic lightning safety practices?
What scientific evidence exists to support either closing or keeping open indoor pools and aquatic facilities during thunderstorms?
Estimates in the literature suggest somewhere between 300 and 1000 persons are struck by lightning annually in the U.S. These strikes result in 60-100 verified annual fatalities with up to 10 times that number who may suffer non-fatal injuries. Lightning is the second most common weather-related cause of fatalities (behind flooding) in the U.S. annually (Holle, Lopez, & Zimmermann, 1999).
Literature related to lightning safety practices is reasonably abundant, albeit largely based on expert opinion and commonsense. Few robust scientific stud- ies exist upon which lightning safety recommendations are based. Many of the recommendations and guidelines (e.g., National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency; National Weather Service) appear to be traceable back to a few common sources including the National Lightning Safety Institute, a non-profit agency, and the Lightning Safety Group, an interest group meeting in conjunction with the American Meteorological Society. Despite the lack of scientific studies, the recommendations from these expert agencies are remarkably similar and consonant.
With respect to the corollary question, what scientific evidence exists to support either closing or keeping open indoor pools and aquatic facilities during thunder- storms, surprisingly, there appear to be no studies upon which several agency poli- cies are based beyond logic and risk management principles. The lack of research makes resolution of this particular issue difficult to impossible at this time...
Language: en |