WHEN SWIMMING BECOMES DANGEROUS

Los Angeles County drowning statistics show why authorities recommend fences around back-yard swimming pools to keep children away from them when there is no supervision. A study of drownings in the county from 1976 to 1984 found that 707 of them--44.5% of the total--occurred in private pools. A second chart, covering drownings in the county last year, shows that infant boys were the most frequent victims of swimming pool drownings. Over the years, more than twice as many males as females have been drowning victims in the county, with only bathtub drownings departing from the pattern.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DROWNINGS 1976-1984--Where People Drown

DROWNING SITE MALE FEMALE NUMBER Private Swimming Pools 488 219 707 Bathtubs 115 132 247 Ocean 231 40 271 Lakes, Rivers, Creeks, Ponds 155 19 174 Hot tubs/Jacuzzis 16 15 31 Reservoirs 32 2 34 Other Swimming Pools (public, wading, etc.) 46 14 60 Pails, Basins, Toilets 7 4 11 Other 40 12 52 TOTAL 1130 457 1587

DROWNING SITE PERCENTAGE Private Swimming Pools 44.5% Bathtubs 15.6% Ocean 17.1% Lakes, Rivers, Creeks, Ponds 11.0% Hot tubs/Jacuzzis 2.0% Reservoirs 2.1% Other Swimming Pools (public, wading, etc.) 3.8% Pails, Basins, Toilets 0.7% Other 3.3% TOTAL 100.0%

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DROWNINGS, 1987--Victims By Age

PLACE OF DROWNING SEX AGE GROUP 0-3 4-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 Pool M 23 4 4 8 4 1 2 F 8 1 1 3 2 Bathtub M 3 2 1 1 F 4 1 5 5 1 1 Ocean M 5 4 5 4 1 F Lake M 2 5 1 F Jacuzzi M 2 1 2 1 F 1 Spa M 1 1 F River M 1 F Toilet M 1 F Hot tub M F 1 Creek M F 1 Bucket M 1 F SUBTOTAL M 31 5 14 20 9 7 5 F 13 2 6 9 4 1 TOTAL 44 5 16 26 18 11 6 5

PLACE OF DROWNING 60-69 70 TOTALS Pool 1 3 50 68 3 18 Bathtub 3 10 33 1 5 23 Ocean 2 21 21 Lake 1 9 9 Jacuzzi 6 7 1 Spa 1 3 3 River 1 1 Toilet 1 1 Hot tub 1 1 Creek 1 1 Bucket 1 1 SUBTOTAL 4 7 102 1 8 44 TOTAL 15 146

Source: Los Angeles County coroner’s office and Department of Health Services