You know that sharp odor of chlorine from the swimming pool you can recall from earliest childhood? It turns out it's not just chlorine, but a potent brew of chemicalsthat form when chlorine meets sweat, body oils, and urine.
But up until now, just how much urine has been difficult to measure, says chemistXing-Fang Li of the University of Alberta. Li and her colleagues report they can now tell roughly how much pee is in a pool by measuring the artificial sweeteners carried in most people's urine. Certain sweeteners can be a good proxy for pee, she says, because they're designed to "go right through you" and don't break down readily in pool water.
The scientists calculated that one 220,000-gallon, commercial-size swimming pool contained almost 20 gallons of urine. In a residential pool (20-by-40-foot, five-feet deep), that would translate to about two gallons of pee. It's only about one-hundredth of a percent, but any urine in a swimming pool can be a health concern for some people, not to mention that smell that never quite goes away.
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A healthy person's urine is about 95 percent water and sterile, so in the short term it's safe to drink and does replenish lost water. But the other 5 percent of urine comprises a diverse collection of waste products, including nitrogen, potassium, and calcium-and too much of these can cause problems.
ReplyDeleteSo 20 gallons means 19 gallons just water?
But it's fun to pee in the pool!
ReplyDeleteit's the floating baby ruth bars I'm concerned about.
ReplyDeleteAfter all this pee/pool talk, its still safe to say my iced cold beer tastes oh so good!!!!! Of course on cannot have a beer without wings AND low level college b-ball tourney action! ON A THURSDAY NO LESS!
ReplyDeleteWOO HOO!!
pee is fine, it's when a baby poops in the pool that you need to worry. Chlorine can't fix that, if you've got an open cut....look out. Public pools are disgusting
ReplyDeleteStill cleaner than swimming in the wicomico river.
ReplyDeleteNo baby ruths in da river in da bury just ax limbo jimbo and howdy doody jake.
ReplyDeleteI never pee in the pool...
ReplyDelete3:43
ReplyDeleteAnd I would bet that a good beer pee is nothing more than water and alcohol.
Sort of like a wet wipe.