After more than 20 years of coaching, Queens University (QU) head swim coach Jeff Dugdale has seen his share of coughing, wheezing, and breathalyzers from poor IAQ at indoor swim meets. Dugdale has visited hundreds of natatoriums, and he claims that the new $30 million Levine Center for Wellness and Recreation at Queen’s University in Charlotte, NC, has unprecedented indoor air quality.
Many natatorium IAQ issues are caused by granulomatous pneumonitis or “Lifeguard Lung.” It’s a respiratory irritant caused by long exposures to chloramines, which are chlorine molecules attached to organic chemicals that results in a heavy, toxic gaseous contaminant that stratifies above the water surface in swimmers’ breathing zones. Chloramines are poorly ventilated in many indoor pool environments, according to Dugdale, who quickly reacts with watering eyes and a raspy throat from chloramines exposure.