Swan Study: Swimming Pool Environment Impact on the Human Respiratory Health

Objectives:

1. In relation to human exposure 1.1. To assess the levels of certain disinfection by-products (DBPs) in blood and urine (biomarkers of exposure); 1.2. To assess swimming induced changes in biomarkers of genotoxicity, specifically micronuclei (MN) in exfoliated urothelial cells and buccal cells and DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes, urine mutagenicity and in exfoliated urothelial; 1.3. To assess the effects of swimming pool exposure on oxidative stress and lung damage in swimming pool users; 1.4. To assess the impact of DBPs, including volatile DBPs on airway function, inflammation and reactivity; 1.5. To assess the impact of swimming on skin transepidermal water loss and dermal condition.
2. In relation to swimming pool environment 2.1. To assess water and air quality through the analysis of several chemical (DBPs and other), physicochemical and microbiological parameters and the associated short-term variation of their levels (hourly and daily); 2.2. To assess microbiological contamination of highly used surfaces; 2.3. To assess mutagenicity of indoor chlorinated and brominated swimming pool water.

Methods

Study setting Chlorinated and brominated public indoor municipal swimming pools in the North of Portugal.

Study design