JUNE 2002

Virginia Graeme Baker, 7, the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James Baker, becomes trapped on a spa drain and drowns.


MARCH 2007

A bill proposing the passage of a national pool and spa safety law named after Baker is reintroduced in the U.S. Congress after failing the year before.

MARCH2007

The drain-cover standard, ASME/ANSI A112.19.8, is revised for the first time since its initial publication in 1987. 


JUNE 2007

Abigail Taylor, 6, suffers an evisceration in a country club wading pool, generating national publicity and garnering additional support for the safety bill. The tragic incident leads to the addition of commercial-pool requirements.


JULY 2007

Zachary Cohn, 6, drowns after his arm becomes stuck in a drain, causing representatives from his home state of Connecticut to sponsor the bill.

DECEMBER 2007

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act is signed by President George W. Bush. The law requires that all commercial-pool drain covers be replaced within 12 months.


DECEMBER 2008

Pool and spa professionals and their commercial clients scramble to meet the deadline for compliance with the VGB Act, set for Dec. 19.


JUNE 2010

Testing lab NSF International files a complaint with ANSI, claiming that some third-party testing labs  were interpreting protocol outlined in the drain-cover standard too liberally.

AUGUST 2010

ABC breaks a story that reveals retesting of certain covers is showing dangerous discrepancies between laboratories.


FEBRUARY 2011

Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) publicly demands that action be taken to ensure drain-cover safety. 


MARCH 2011

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announces it will conduct its own investigation into drain-cover testing.

APRIL 2011

CPSC conducts a public meeting with the pool and spa industry, testing labs and safety advocates regarding variances in test results.


MAY 2011

The CPSC announces a recall potentially affecting one million drain covers.


SEPTEMBER 2011

ASME/ANSI A112.19.8 is replaced by APSP-16 as the drain-cover standard named in the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act.