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Risks..
>From today's Washington Post... be warned.. life is 100% fatal.
The Thrill Is . . . Deadly?
Tuesday, May 21, 2002; Page
HE03
In the last 10 years, at least
58 people have
reportedlysuffered brain
injuries while riding roller coasters or other thrill rides at
amusement parks. Eight of them died.
The new numbers, compiled by the office of Rep. Edward
Markey (D-Mass.) from both official sources and
individuals,more than triple the number of cases tallied
earlier. Markey's office asserts the injuries were due to the
high gravitational forces (or G-forces) created by newer
rides, forces that can cause the soft tissue of a rider's brain
to hit the sides of the skull at high speeds. This can lead to
bleeding and swelling, which can result in memory loss,
nerve damage and, at worst, death.
"A roller coaster arms race has broken out in the last 10
years," said Markey. "Each park advertises that they have
the most dangerous, fastest ride that's ever been built. The
effect has been that every roller coaster today makes those
of the 1950s and '60s look like a Model T." In the last 10
years, said a spokesman for Markey, the average top speed
of rides has increased from 55 mph to 70 mph.
Three of the 58 injuries cited by Markey's office involve
Virginia parks. At Paramount's Kings Dominion near
Richmond, a rider reportedly suffered brain injuries in
1999 on a ride called Volcano, the Blast Coaster. In a
statement, Kings Dominion said the Volcano ride has been
ridden safely by 2.2 million people and has been
repeatedly inspected and declared safe by state officials
and independent experts. Also according to Markey's
office, two riders sustained brain injuries in 1998 on the
Loch Ness Monster and Drachen Fire rides at Busch
Gardens in Williamsburg. The park declined requests for
comment on the incidents.
Two years ago, Markey introduced the National
Amusement Park Ride Safety Act, proposing that the
federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) be
given jurisdiction over the amusement park industry and
that a national G-force limit be established. The bill hasn't
had a hearing; Markey blames the amusement industry's
lobbying efforts.
Amusement park rides in fixed locations are regulated by
individual states, and no state regulates the amount of
G-force a ride can exert. But yesterday, New Jersey was
scheduled to publish proposed regulations on G-force
limits that are slated to go into effect in October.
"We think we're reaching the point that there should be
some independent certification that everything's as it
should be with these rides," said William Connolly,
director of New Jersey's Division of Codes and Standards
in the Department of Community Affairs. The effort was
triggered by a 1999 incident that killed a mother and
daughter at Ocean City, N.J.
The new regulations vary according to the amount of time
the rider is exposed to high G-forces and how the ride
affects the body. But generally, said Connolly, the new
rules would allow G-forces as high as 5.6 on rides that
push riders back into their seat for one second at a time. If
the pressure lasts longer, the limit would go down to 4 G's.
The proposed limit for rides that hurl riders left or right or
pull the body forward or up is 1.5 to 2.5. (By comparison,
according to U.S. Air Force's Air Education and Training
Command, fighter pilots are routinely exposed to G-forces
of up to 9 -- though they wear pressurized suits that ease
the jolt.)
Bret Lovejoy, president of Alexandria-based International
Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA),
said that Markey's campaign -- based partially on
unverified injury reports that may prove to be unrelated to
high G-forces or even design flaws -- is a disservice to the
public. When Markey introduced the bill two years ago,
Lovejoy said, the majority of the reports cited turned out to
involve people who had medical conditions like high
blood pressure. Signs warn such people not to board roller
coasters and similar rides, Lovejoy said.
Lovejoy also thinks New Jersey is "jumping the gun" by
adopting G-force limits. Most states adopt safety standards
published by the American Society for Testing and
Materials, he said. "What New Jersey has developed is
very confusing and complex. If the best engineers in the
industry can't understand them, then there's a problem."
But Markey hopes New Jersey's regulations "will be the
beginning of a domino effect that results in a de facto
national standard," he said.
-- Suz Redfearn
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
>>
Patricia A. Milligan, RPh.,CHP
USNRC
301-415-2223
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