Pool pee isn’t just gross—it’s also harming swimmers

[Renew Deal]

Swim against the Olympians Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte and, chances are, you’re bathing in their urine. And they’re not alone. Nearly one in five American adults (pdf, p.5) admits to having urinated in public swimming pools. Phelps, for one, doesn’t think a little in-pool relief is such a big deal.

“I think everybody pees in the pool,” Phelps told The Telegraph in 2012. “It’s kind of a normal thing to do for swimmers. When we’re in the water for two hours, we don’t really get out to pee. Chlorine kills it so it’s not bad.”

But though chlorine might kill bacteria, it also reacts with chemicals in human urine to create harmful gases. Scientists have long-known that when urea—a compound present in urine—combines with chlorine, it gives off nitrogen trichloramine (NCl3), a poisonous gas that can cause acute lung injury. Scientists monitoring the presence of nitrogen trichloramine during a national swimming competition found that it doubled after the first day, increasing by three to four times throughout the rest of the four-day event.
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http://qz.com/185968/pool-pee-isnt-just-gross-its-also-harming-swimmers/#/h/52874,2/

[dionysus]

1. just when i'd thought i'd seen it all... damn...

[NYC_SKP]

2. I'm pretty sure there's a human rights issue case to be made here for some.

First they came for the incontinents...

[Mnemosyne]

3. Sign I saw years ago - "Don't pee in our pool, we don't swim in your toilet." nt

[laundry_queen]

4. Another one. "This is our ool. Notice there is no 'p' in it. Please keep it that way." nt

[Mnemosyne]

8. I've seen that one also, too funny! nt

[Eleanors38]

5. Aimed propetly, you can get a "jet-off take."

[alp227]

6. Michael Phelps must have watched too much Chappelle's Show.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/gslu5d/chappelle-s-show-r--kelly-s--piss-on-you--video

[Iggo]

7. Public pools are unclean?

Oh, no!!!

[AgingAmerican]

9. Chlorine schlorine

Urine is sterile when it comes out.

I remember my sister pooping in the pool when she was about four years old. I saw the turd on the bottom and yelled, "Poo in the pool! Poo in the pool!" and everyone scampered out. It was at my grandmas pool at her motel. I remember all the adults were laughing about it and my dad had to fish it out with the pool net.

[Warren DeMontague]

11. It's no big deal

[Bonobo]

13. Name the candy bar type. nt

[Warren DeMontague]

15. You mean the Baby Ruth?

There's no way that was endorsed product placement, FWIW. "Our candy bar looks like a turd! We'll sell meeeeeeeelions!"

[Bonobo]

16. LOLOLOLOL!

You crack me up!

[Warren DeMontague]

17. I loved that movie. It probably explains a lot about my juvenile sense of humor.

Hell, in many ways I -lived- that movie. Growing up I had a bunch of friends who caddied for drunk rich people every summer. Me, I was far too lazy to get up every day at the crack of ass, plus squinting at a little white ball with my weed-addled myopic eyes didn't sound like much fun. So I'd do stuff like work at the mini-mart down the street.

[defacto7]

19. In a perfect world you are right..

Human urine and fecal material is cleaner than we think, in a better reality than we have. The chemical reaction is a fact if there is a lot of relieving going on, but the biggest problem in the last 25 years or so is that the food we eat now isn't what it used to be, and there are toxins in pee we have to worry about that shouldn't be there, but they are. The other issue is there is a higher rate of E Coli going around from diapers and fecal material and that is really killing people and is immune to chlorine. That shouldn't be there either... but it is.

[markpkessinger]

20. Um, not really

Assuming a person is free from infection, yes, urine is sterile as it leaves the bladder, but it picks up bacteria as it travels through the urethra. Here is what the site, urologygroup.com, has to say on the subject:

Is Urine Really Sterile?
It’s both yes and no to this one. Ancient Aztecs actually believed that urine was so sterile it was a good antiseptic for use in disinfecting wounds. While urine still in the bladder is normally sterile and free of bacteria, once it leaves your body, it begins to pick up bacteria from the urethra and the surrounding area. Knowing that urine is no longer sterile once it leaves the body, we would recommend that minor cuts and scrapes are best treated with soap and water and a good antiseptic.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.

Man, if the Olympics weren't tough enough... just wait until they start eating asparagus to try to do the other swimmers in.

[TroglodyteScholar]

12. Science! n/t

[Skittles]

14. WTF

I never peed in a public pool - I remember how weired it felt stripping down the wet suit to pee!

[Warren DeMontague]

18. They say Virtue is its own reward.

Although it kind of sucks if everyone else has been doing it.

I haven't peed in a pool since I was old enough to know better. Peed in plenty of lakes and oceans, however.