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Meeting
to propose a single standard for swimming pools in the EEC
The Association of Manufacturers of Equipment, Chemical Products
and Builders of Swimming Pools (ASOFAP), based in Barcelona,
has become the international promoter for the proposal of
a single standard to control manufacturing, building and maintenance
processes of swimming pools in European countries, in a unified
fashion and with quality criteria,
To
achieve this objective, ASOFAP has created an international
lobby meeting in Barcelona with representatives of similar
active associations in Spain (ATEP), Portugal (APP), France
(FNCSL), United Kingdom (SPATA) and Italy (ASSOPISCINE), in
order to start the legal procedure to achieve the approval
of the European Parliament.
This
initiative is the result of the proposal put forward by entrepreneurs
and experts of the swimming pool industry and members of the
Association, in view of the international situation, where
different standards in each region of EU countries, not only
jeopardise international transactions and the professionalism
of the sector, but also significantly affect the user, who
is faced with a lack of information. This leads to the user
acquiring equipment, that in spite of being legally authorised
on the market, are not necessarily the most appropriate, or
do not have the required standard.
Swimming
pool regulations have one primary objective: to ensure the
safety and health of the public. In this sense, a single standard
would help in guaranteeing more safety in the use of installations,
better health control, together with less cost in terms of
profitability, maintenance and duration, and it covers public,
private, semi-private swimming pools, Hydrotherapy installations
and water parks. In this sense, the representatives of the
various countries brought together by ASOFAP, all coincide
in the importance of training, and consider that unless swimming
pool staff are properly trained, it is not possible to achieve
a good level of maintenance, safety, correct application of
products nor the incorporation of new technologies.
Also,
ASOFAP, which also aims to defend the financial and commercial
interests of its associates, believes that differing regulations
jeopardise the internationalisation of companies. Therefore,
a single standard would be advantageous for Manufacturers
of Equipment, Chemical Products and Builders of Swimming Pools,
which would have quality and certification criteria, to assist
not only in manufacture, but also in trade exchange and in
the export of products, equipment and installations manufactured
in Spain.
The
importance of a Single Standard would reduce the considerable
differences currently existing in Spain and Europe, in such
basic aspects as building, water recirculation, heating, safety,
maintenance and training. In this sense, although they already
have more unified and precise laws, the representatives of
the different countries all coincide on the importance of
a Single Standard, which would also make it easier to revise
and up-date the law as new demands and technologies arise.
In
the case of Spain, all standards are recent. There were really
no standards as such until 1987, when the Catalan Autonomous
Government published the first one through Decree 193/19th
May. Since then, other regions have also passed laws regarding
swimming pools, and now each Region has its own regulations
with significant differences between them. Apart from the
17 current standards, some Local Councils also have their
own regulations.
Antonio
Llastarri, the president of ASOFAP, stated that the meeting
with international representatives was highly positive. From
this meeting, a Work Committee has been set up with the aim
of structuring the tasks to be performed and to set time schedules.
One of the first tasks consists of compiling all European
regulations, making a comparative balance and to list the
associations which will act as representatives of each country.
Relations with governmental and EU organisms involved in the
negotiation have also been started-up. The committee plans
to hold its next meeting on 26th May in Paris.
There
are 17 standards in Spain, one for each Region, which we summarise
in a comparative survey.
Pictures
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