Summer is on it’s way, which means the beach and pools will be busy.
A recent study from the University of Alberta, however, might have you sticking to the beach.
The study collected 250 samples from 31 Canadian swimming pools and hot tubs, and found that there’s a lot more than people think.
Depending on pool size, there’s typically between 30 and 75 litres of urine in your average Canadian pool.
The 75 litres was found in pools that are 220,000 gallons in size, about a third of a typical olympic-sized swimming pool.
Closer to 30 litres was found in smaller pools, measuring closer to 100,000 gallons in size.
“Human urinary input into swimming pools is a public health concern, although urine itself is sterile,” the study said. “Urine contains many nitrogenous compounds such as urea, ammonia, amino acids and creatine.”
According to the study, those compounds react with disinfectants in swimming pools to form disinfection byproducts, which can lead to eye and respiratory irritation.
Disinfection byproducts have also been linked to occupational asthma.
While these numbers seem surprising, a 2012 study from the Water Quality & Health Council found that 19% of American adults admitted to peeing in pools.
You can find more information on the University of Alberta study by clicking this link.
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