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More than 60 people required treatment on Saturday after a chemical incident at a Six Flags water park in Houston, Texas, officials said.
The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office tweeted that dozens of people experienced minor skin irritation and / or inhalation after a chemical incident was detected at one of Hurricane Harbor’s attractions Splashtown. The local fire department said 26 people were transported to local hospitals and 39 people were refused ambulance transport after a HAZMAT unit subjected people to a decontamination process. About 4,000 people were in the park at the time of the incident.
“Most of the patients we saw early on were all in respiratory distress, a little hard to breathe, things like that,” Spring Fire Chief Scott Seifert said at a press conference on Saturday. . “We haven’t seen anyone with chemical burns, anything like that.”
A three-year-old, however, was “in a condition serious enough” to be rushed to a children’s hospital, officials said. This child is now in stable condition. Authorities said another woman appeared to be in labor when medical staff arrived at the scene, but no further details were provided.
“At around 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, a small number of guests in part of the park reported feeling unwell from respiratory irritation,” a Hurricane Harbor spokesperson told CBS News. “The safety of our guests and team members is always our top priority and the park was immediately cleaned up as we try to determine a cause. Out of caution, the park has been closed for the day.”
The fire marshal said the last time it was inspected was June 29. The public health department also carried out an inspection of the swimming pool installation in April.
Officials said the leak was limited to a single attraction. Splashtown has 16 open attractions, according to its website.
Officials told the press conference that the chemical products they detected a solution of 10-13% hydrochloric acid – bleach – and 35% sulfuric acid. Bleach is often used to disinfect swimming pool water. Officials also said that when they tested water samples, the water had a pH of 7, meaning it was in a neutral equilibrium.
“We don’t know exactly what happened before that made people sick,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. “… But something obviously went wrong.”
Hidalgo added they would review the park’s “regulatory framework”, and officials said they were monitoring air and water quality and investigating the cause of the incident.
There is “no indication of air quality or chemical leaks in the surrounding area”, Hidalgo tweeted.
The North Houston Waterpark had just reopened to all guests on July 3 after it closed for the 2020 season due to the pandemic.
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