Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act
On Dec. 19, 2007, President Bush signed The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007 into law. Drowning remains the second leading killer of children under the age of 14, and this legislation provides incentives for states to adopt comprehensive pool safety laws that will protect children from life-threatening injuries and horrible deaths from dangerous pool and spa drains.
The law is named for the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, who joined Graeme's mother, Nancy Baker, Safe Kids, congressional leaders and dozens of other stakeholders in a three-year advocacy campaign for the legislation. In 2002 at the age of 7, Graeme Baker died in a spa after the powerful suction of a drain entrapped her under water.
The Virginia Graeme Baker
Pool and Spa Safety Act of 2007
Specifically, the law will:
- Prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution of drain covers that do not meet anti-entrapment safety standards established by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The legislation includes a directive for the CPSC to establish a safety standard for anti-entrapment drain covers. This would ensure that all drain covers available in the marketplace would conform to certain safety criteria.
- Create an incentive grant program for states to adopt comprehensive pool and spa safety laws requiring certain safety devices in swimming pools and spas to protect children. The legislation would provide grants to states that pass a comprehensive swimming pool and spa safety law. The bill would require states to use funds, if awarded, to hire and train personnel for the proper enforcement of state law; and educate pool owners and operators, pool construction and installation companies, pool service companies and the public about the state law and about drowning prevention practices.
- Establish a national drowning prevention education program within the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The bill would require the CPSC to create and administer an educational program to inform the public about ways to prevent drowning and entrapment in swimming pools and spas and execute a national media campaign to promote awareness of pool and spa safety.
- Require public pools to incorporate anti-entrapment drain covers and other layers of protection. The legislation would require that each public pool and spa must be equipped with anti-entrapment drain covers and other layers of protection, such as safety vacuum release systems.
Read a complete summary of the VGB Act (PDF)
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For more information on the VGB Act, as well as pool and spa safety requirements and resources, please visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Pool and Spa Safety Web site.
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