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Study says bathing suit color can affect outcome of drowning situation
Escrito el 08 Jul 2022
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Tri-Cities, WA — It was a busy 4th of July weekend for our local rivers and pools, with many flocking to the water to celebrate Independence Day while cooling off from that intense summer heat. But with one death on the water already, every precaution available should be taken.
It can happen in an instant.
According to the CDC, an estimated 3,960 people die every year due to unintentional drownings; that averages out to 11 a day. During the period between 2015 and 2019, Washington averaged 1.44 drowning deaths per 100,000 people.
In 2021, Alive solutions, a group that provides aquatic safety tips and training, released a study about the importance of swimsuit color in a drowning situation. They noticed in both pools and open bodies of water, neon colors are more noticeable, but can swimsuit color make a difference in saving a life?
"Honestly for a pool setting, or at least specifically with our facility, I wouldn't say it makes a difference," said City of Kennewick Pool Manager Keyshawn Barrington." Our pool specifically is concrete, it's white, everyone is pretty noticeable."
"That makes absolutely no difference whatsoever because you look at a person who is four feet tall, a kid, they're already two feet below the surface of the water so the color of the bathing suit makes no difference," said Columbia Basin Dive Rescue PIO Scott Ruppelius. "Even if they're just floating at the surface, you're not really going to see them until you get right on top of them."
Barrington has worked in the pool for eight years and Ruppelius has been with the Columbia Basin Dive Rescue for 21, and both focus more on prevention like wearing lifejackets and having proper supervision.
"The best thing to do is to wear a lifejacket," said Ruppelius. "I know it doesn't seem cool or whatnot, but having those newer, neoprene lifejackets, they fit real nice, they're real comfortable to wear and if something happens, you get knocked on the head or you fall off the boat by accident, you'll float and somebody can come pick up up. If not, you can sink and drown pretty easily."
It can happen in an instant.According to the CDC, an estimated 3,960 people die every year due to unintentional drownings; that averages out to 11 a day. During the period between 2015 and 2019, Washington averaged 1.44 drowning deaths per 100,000 people.
In 2021, Alive solutions, a group that provides aquatic safety tips and training, released a study about the importance of swimsuit color in a drowning situation. They noticed in both pools and open bodies of water, neon colors are more noticeable, but can swimsuit color make a difference in saving a life?
"Honestly for a pool setting, or at least specifically with our facility, I wouldn't say it makes a difference," said City of Kennewick Pool Manager Keyshawn Barrington." Our pool specifically is concrete, it's white, everyone is pretty noticeable."
"That makes absolutely no difference whatsoever because you look at a person who is four feet tall, a kid, they're already two feet below the surface of the water so the color of the bathing suit makes no difference," said Columbia Basin Dive Rescue PIO Scott Ruppelius. "Even if they're just floating at the surface, you're not really going to see them until you get right on top of them."
Barrington has worked in the pool for eight years and Ruppelius has been with the Columbia Basin Dive Rescue for 21, and both focus more on prevention like wearing lifejackets and having proper supervision.
"The best thing to do is to wear a lifejacket," said Ruppelius. "I know it doesn't seem cool or whatnot, but having those newer, neoprene lifejackets, they fit real nice, they're real comfortable to wear and if something happens, you get knocked on the head or you fall off the boat by accident, you'll float and somebody can come pick up up. If not, you can sink and drown pretty easily."
