CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dozens of young children were swimming in a YMCA pool in Durham yesterday when they suddenly fell ill, coughing at the smell of a strange odor.
Many children were hospitalized, and local officials determined it was a chemical leak from the pool's equipment room that made everyone sick.
Somehow, sodium hypochlorite and sulfuric acid leaked and mixed into the water.
Past Coverage:
- Inspectors deny permits for 23 Meck. Co. pools before holiday weekend
- Commissioners to receive update on county pool inspection process
- Mecklenburg County leaders push for pool safety
Mecklenburg county pool inspectors are in charge of checking more than a thousand pools.
They look for all kinds of issues, including how chemicals are stored so they don’t create a hazard.
Reporter Gina Esposito looked through Mecklenburg County pool inspection reports over the past month.
Out of 75 reports, Esposito found 17 violations were given to pools for equipment rooms at apartments, hotels, country clubs and day cares.
Most inspectors found issues with flow meters, leaks and poor ventilation.
Will Stanley is a pool expert who works on private and commercial pools.
Stanley said it is rare for those two chemicals to mix and turn into a chlorine gas.
“The way these chemicals are stored, they are stored in a container that's sealed so unless the seal on both of them break, I don’t see how both of them be mixed,” Stanley said.
Suspensions aren't typically given to pools with equipment room violations.
They can be issued if there is a safety hazard, or if water quality standards aren’t met.
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Cox Media Group
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