Bradford Woods pool reopens following chemical exposure incident

A swimming pool at Bradford Woods has reopened this week following an incident with its filtering system that sent a camper and three staff members to the hospital.

Officials from Bradford Woods, which serves as the outdoor education facility of the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, said a staff member mistakenly mixed muriatic acid into the system last Thursday, believing the chemical was chlorine.

Muriatic acid is a highly corrosive liquid compound often used for cleaning concrete and outdoor pavements.

“Both containers of chemicals come in the exact same size, shape, color and label style which could have led to them being mistaken for each other,” said Graham McKeen, an environmental health and safety specialist from the Office of Environment, one of three IU offices that investigated the accident.

Despite the chemical being introduced to the system, the mixture did not reach the pool water, Bradford Woods Director Shay Dawson said.

“The chemicals from the reaction didn’t move into the pool since the pumps were shut down,” Dawson said. “As a result, everything was contained in the storage tank for the liquid chlorine.”

The resulting fumes, however, sickened some of the staff and campers of Camp Riley,
a summer program for youths with physical disabilities.

The adults, all Bradford Woods staff members, were treated and released from Morgan County Hospital on Thursday. The camper, however, remained hospitalized at Riley Hospital for Children until Friday morning as a precautionary measure.

“The camper is doing great and will have no lasting effects from the incident,” Dawson said.

Everyone in the immediate area of the incident was evacuated, and seven fire departments responded to the chemical exposure call.

Dawson said that Bradfood Woods officials notified all of the campers’ parents immediately following the accident and that he has not heard any negative remarks from them.

“All responses have been overwhelmingly supportive of the way things were handled,” he said.

In the wake of the accident, officials have announced that new safeguards will be implemented, which include keeping the muriatic acid and chlorine in separate locked rooms and making sure the maintenance staff receives the same pool operator certification as the pool maintenance staff.

“I think these safeguards as well as our after-action review will prevent something like this happening again at Bradford Woods,” McKeen said.  

— Jake New