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Six-Year-Old Minnesota Girl Injured in Suction Entrapment Incident

The APSP is following news reports that six-year-old Abigail Taylor of Edina, MN, was severely injured June 29 when she came in contact with a single unprotected drain (suction outlet) in a wading pool at the Minneapolis Golf Club. According to news reports, the drain cover had been removed. The suction caused a two-inch tear in her rectum and pulled out most of her small intestines.

This incident demonstrates why it is critical to close a pool whenever a drain cover is loose, broken, or missing as required by the ANSI/APSP-7 Suction Entrapment Standard. APSP can affirmatively state that when the ANSI/APSP-7 Suction Entrapment Standard is followed, suction entrapment-related injuries do not occur. The ANSI/APSP-7 standard was written for adoption into state code, where it can become enforceable. The three main actions APSP recommends to avoid suction entrapment are:

1.  Do not play or swim near suction outlet covers.
2.  Close the pool if the drain cover is missing, loose, or broken and get it replaced with an approved anti-entrapment cover.
3.  Maintain your pool and inspect covers to make sure they are in place and secure.