Dozens fall ill at Wyandot Lake due to chlorine fumes

Can you say "lawsuit"?

If it was gas thats a chemical reaction. Still very posionous if it was indeed the gas

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wow...pretty interesting after hearing about the dangers of enclosed showers only days ago on the news....apparently some folks are more sensitive to chlorine fumes than others are.....

I just heard on the news today (i live in columbus) that they did tests on the water and found no abnormalities (even in the chlorine content)

Kids with asthma or other breathing difficulties are more sensitive to fumes than your average Joe.

So it could have been sickening (to some) and below typically dangerous levels all at the same time.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

The other question? If there was any chlorine gas, where did it come from? The use of gas chlorinators in new installations was outlawed many years before that park was built. I know that if you mix ammonia (NH3) with sodium hypoclorite (NaClO) you release chlorine gas, which is why you NEVER mix chlorine-based and ammonia-based cleaning products. And NEVER clean your toilet with bleach. :)

Now with that information, there is <ahem> a distinct possibilty. Except that the amount of water in those pools means that the chemicals would be far too dilute to cause a noticeable amount of gas to be produced.

Maybe somebody farted...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Contact of "dry chlorine" such as HTH (R) with an acid or heat can result in a chlorine release. Many pools have both the bleach for chlorination and the acid for pH adjustement. Contact of the two could explain what happened.

Following up on what azzkikr101 said, some witnesses mentioned the "green cloud" over the water...from what I heard, chlorine gas is somewhat yellowish. As of 6:30 today, everyone is still stumped - more test results could take weeks according to one report. The water is OK now.

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"Maybe somebody farted..."
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LMAO

Well, it would certainly explain the green cloud!! *** This post was edited by RAD on 7/1/2002. ***

I've been cleaning my toilet with bleach and bleach products for 20 years, and my mom, and her mom, have always done the same, nothing wrong with it.

They probably just shocked the water with some strong chlorine, and let people in too soon. That happened at one of my swim practices once. It wasn't a very pretty picture.

So was it 10, 20, or "dozens" of children that were sick?

First off, you would have to add a whole lot of chlorine to make you sick enough to go the the hospital. Then the injuries that it would cause is burns, not vomiting and breathing troubles. And after 20 min after you added the chlorine the water will at safe levels in pools that have a decent filter. Trust me I work at a pool and I shock the pool once a week or so. My guess as to what happened was that someone brought in a substance that would cause those proublems and I don't want to sound twisted, but if you were going to try to harm people at a park, why not do it in the place with the most people, such as a wave pool.

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RAD--- That was the funniest thing I've read on this site in a long time. I actually chuckled out loud. (Just goes to show you that fart jokes will never go out of style to some people I guess)

Sampleman7---I've done the same thing too. I've used bleach/bleach products and haven't had a problem at all. BUT one time I foolishly mixed bleach with Comet and WOOHOO.. that was a doosie let me tell ya'!

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Hey guys, I read that the guests who got sick were treated for chlorine gas inhalation, and that the park has pretty much proven that it cannot be chlorine.

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What I have heard is that a non-trivial number of kids were transported from the park, but there were two who were actively sick.

As to the chlorinated toilets...That's fine so long as you flush before you use the thing. Chlorine bleach in household strength has almost no color when diluted in a toilet bowl, so if Mom who doesn't know chemistry dumps in a few ounces and lets it sit without telling anybody, then her son comes in and adds a strong ammonia-bearing liquid....Son gets to smell a real strong reaction in less time than it takes to reach the flush handle! At least that's my experience! :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Dave:

I hope you were standing not sitting. That can also be a strong skin irritant.

Mark B.

Respiratory distress and eye irritation are the primary effects of chlorine gas exposure. I know these from experience. Nausea and vomiting can also result from greater exposures.

High levels of disolved chlorine or low pH will cause skin irritation in a pool. The effects of chlorine gas and disolved chlorine are usually quite different.

jimmybob:

Chlorine gas is a yellow-green color and can appear yellow or green depending on the lighting. The blue paint used so much around pools may contribute to a green appearance. Still, I suspect that the color was imagined since if the concentration was that high the injuries probably would have been worse. Chlorine concentrations that high will drop you like a rock.

Joey -

Thanks, but I was actually echoing Rideman's comment at the end of his post. I, too, thought it was the funniest thing I've read in here in a LONG time, and couldn't stop laughing for a while. I still laugh at it now after a couple of days!!