One thing we mention often when talking to potential clients about our
salt chlorine generators is the chance for staff members to make a big mistake when it comes to chlorine handling. Simple things that you would find behind the scenes at most commercial swimming pool facilities such as as soda or floor cleaner can cause very dangerous hazards for employees, guests and customers.
According to a news report an employee of a Louisisana physical therapy & fitness center discarded chlorine tablets into a trash can this past Friday. Later in the day another employee disposed of cleaning products in that same trash can. The mixture of the chlorine tablets and cleaning products created a chlorine cloud and the potential for a very dangerous situation.
Earlier this year employees at a hotel in California dumped chlorine and acid down a roof drain. This mixture traveled down the building's plumbing and made it to a street-level drain. Fumes then moved into a subway station two blocks away from the hotel.
About 100 first responders arrived to the subway station when people became ill from the fumes. Authorities believed it to be a possible terrorist attack. At the time of the last news report the hotel was facing the possibility of up to $500,000.00 in fines along with other possible charges.
This should serve as a reminder to always review your chemical handling procedures and properly train all staff members. Dangerous situations just like these are why we are hearing from more and more commercial pool operators looking to make the switch to a salt chlorine generator.