CPSC Issues New Drowning Report with Child Fatalities; Reminder for Extra Water Safety Vigilance

Agency Calls for Increased Drowning Prevention Efforts This Summer for Families with Children and Historically Excluded Communities

WASHINGTON – The annual drowning and submersion report released today by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows that fatal child drownings and nonfatal drowning injuries for children under age 15 remain high. CPSC urges families with young children and those in historically excluded communities to make water safety a priority, particularly as they spend more time in and around pools during the summer. Child drownings continue to be the leading cause of death among children ages 1 to 4 years old.

CPSC's latest data for the U.S. show the following for children younger than 15 years of age:

Additionally, the report highlighted drowning hazards in children younger than 5 years of age:

Where location was known, 80 percent of reported fatal child drownings occurred in residential settings such as the victim's home, or that of a family member, friend, or neighbor, with 91 percent of those drownings occurring in those younger than 5 years of age.

The report also highlights stark racial disparities in drowning fatalities. Out of the 63 percent of all drowning fatalities involving children whose race is identified, African American children made up 21 percent of all drownings.

For older children – aged 5 to 14 with race identified – 45 percent of drowning deaths involved African Americans. These data highlight the need to reach historically excluded communities with water safety information and support.

"The fatalities from drowning and non-fatal drowning injuries are still high, so water safety vigilance remains crucially important this summer and all year," said CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric. "CPSC urges parents and caregivers to follow Pool Safely safety steps. And I especially encourage everyone to use layers of protection. For example, you should install proper barriers, covers, and alarms on or around your pool, as well as designate an adult to always supervise children in the water. CPSC is working to raise awareness with our drowning prevention efforts and to collaborate with diverse communities to get the word out to help reduce pool- and spa-related injuries and fatalities."

Parents and caregivers can follow Pool Safely's simple steps to keep children safer in and around the water:

You can read the full CPSC drowning and entrapment reports by visiting PoolSafely.gov.

Note: CPSC's report addresses nonfatal drownings for the period 2020 through 2022 and fatal drownings for the period 2018 through 2020, reflecting a lag in the reporting of fatal drowning statistics.

Pool Safely, a national public education campaign supporting the requirements of Section 1407 of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, works with collaborators around the country to reduce child drownings, nonfatal drownings and entrapment incidents in swimming pools and spas. Parents, caregivers and the media are encouraged to visit: PoolSafely.gov or to follow Pool Safely on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for vital safety information regarding the prevention of child drownings in and around pools and spas.

For more information, contact Nikki Fleming in CPSC's Office of Communications at [email protected].

Individual Commissioners may have statements related to this topic. Please visit www.cpsc.gov/commissioners to search for statements related to this or other topics.

About the U.S. CPSCThe U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products has contributed to a decline in the rate of injuries associated with consumer products over the past 50 years.

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