HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Nearly 30 people were treated at area hospitals and dozens more went through a decontamination process after a chemical leak at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown on Saturday. The waterpark was evacuated after the leak was discovered and it remained closed Sunday.
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Officials said a mixture of sulfuric acid and hypochlorite solution caused dozens of people in a kiddie pool to have irritated skin and breathing problems.
Some guests were still in their bathing suits when they walked into the emergency room. Some guests said they noticed something was wrong when they started feeling dizzy and disoriented.
“I got a headache, an instant headache, and I could smell something, and the next thing you know, we’re being told to get out of the pool,” one guest said.
Other guests said they felt skin irritation.
“I just felt, like, burning everywhere. On my hands and my legs,” another guest said. “And even washing, they had us rinse and I said, ‘Well, why do I still keep burning?' I don’t know if it was coming out of my hair.’”
Firefighters set up their ladder truck with a nozzle at the end and sprayed guests down to help decontaminate them. Everyone who was affected is expected to be OK, authorities said.
What chemicals caused this to happen?
Experts said the mixture is used to keep the water clean but a chemical reaction can happen if they're mixed incorrectly.
"Basically like bleach you use at home except it’s a lot more concentrated," Glacier Pool Supplies & Spas Owner Keith Nathan said. "When those things get mixed in concentrated form, you get heat and you get the release of chlorine gas which will definitely affect your breathing and irritates you."
Nathan said at large facilities like Splashtown, the chemicals are usually released through automated systems.
Local authorities are investigating what went wrong.
"If you can have 60 plus people get sick and your system doesn’t catch what’s off with the chemicals or whatever, then clearly something is wrong with the system," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said.