Around 18 months after issuing a definition of an “unblockable” pool drain that was contentious even among its own members, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) now has revoked its position that a pool drain cover alone can create an unblockable drain.

Three of the CPSC’s five commissioners voted this morning that pools and spas with drains that had been deemed unblockable by virtue of being fitted with the appropriate certified covers must also be fitted with a secondary means of protection against entrapment, such as a safety vacuum release system (SVRS), gravity drainage system or automatic pump shut-off system.

This morning’s revocation is the latest development in the CPSC’s efforts to interpret and enforce the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act (commonly referred to as VGB or P&SSA), which was passed by Congress in 2007. The VGB Act requires that all public pools and spas be fitted with certified covers on every suction outlet and that pools and spas with a single main drain, other than an unblockable drain, must also be equipped with a secondary anti-entrapment system.

In April 2010, the CPSC issued technical standards to clarify the definition of an unblockable drain, which was described in the VGB Act only as “a drain of any size and shape that a human body cannot sufficiently block to create a suction entrapment hazard.” By a vote of three to two, the agency finalized its criteria for an unblockable drain as one “that is large enough that its open area cannot be blocked by an 18-by-23-inch element used in testing,” and that during testing flow around the blocking element has to maintain a certain rate. It also stated that a smaller drain could be rendered unblockable if fitted with an appropriate cover.

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