Swimming Pools: The Hidden History & Public Health Risks You Didn’t Know About | Health Wanted - 201

From backyard summer fun to Olympic glory, swimming pools hold a special place in American life — but their history is more complex than you think. In this episode of Health Wanted, from WABE and Emory-Rollins, Laurel Bristow dives into the surprising connections between pools and public health, including:

· How chlorine interacts with sweat and urine to create harmful compounds
· Why cryptosporidium remains one of the toughest pool-borne threats
· The myth and role pools played in past disease outbreaks like polio
· The history of segregation and access — and how it still impacts drowning rates today

Backed by science and history, this episode explores what a pastime as simple as swimming reveals about our society, our health, and our future.

#PublicHealth #SwimmingPools #HealthWanted #WABE #Science #History #DrowningPrevention

Health Wanted is brought to you by WABE and Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health.

For the full episode of the Health Wanted podcast — including Laurel’s conversation with Megan Benvenuto from the YMCA of Atlanta — listen to Health Wanted at wabe.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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