Pool Closed After Chemicals Caused Students' Body Hair to Fall Off
- 11 years ago
The pool at Berkeley High School in California was recent shut down after city officials discovered a high level of chemicals in the water. Several parents sent letters to the school principal claiming that students on the water polo team encountered various symptoms from the pool water ranging from bleached hair to burning eyes to the loss of bodily hair.
There's no shortage of swimming pool horror stories.
Just ask students at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California.
Some of them lost body hair because of the high levels of chemicals in the water. The pool was forced to shut down last Wednesday.
Several parents sent letters to the school principal claiming that students on the water polo team encountered various symptoms from the pool water ranging from bleached hair to burning eyes to the loss of bodily hair.
City authorities arrived at the school to follow up on the complaints and discovered the water showed an “exponentially high pH level of 8.5.” The school’s water polo coach explained the reason for the issue stating “The high pH was caused by a defective CO2 tank, CO2 being the gas that buffers the pH.”
Following the discovery, a new CO2 tank was quickly ordered. In an attempt to prevent similar problems in the future, chemistry readings will now be taken three times a day.
The city’s health inspector will have to sign off on the pool’s re-opening. The most recent incident makes it the second time the Berkeley pool has shut down due to a chemical imbalance.
There's no shortage of swimming pool horror stories.
Just ask students at Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California.
Some of them lost body hair because of the high levels of chemicals in the water. The pool was forced to shut down last Wednesday.
Several parents sent letters to the school principal claiming that students on the water polo team encountered various symptoms from the pool water ranging from bleached hair to burning eyes to the loss of bodily hair.
City authorities arrived at the school to follow up on the complaints and discovered the water showed an “exponentially high pH level of 8.5.” The school’s water polo coach explained the reason for the issue stating “The high pH was caused by a defective CO2 tank, CO2 being the gas that buffers the pH.”
Following the discovery, a new CO2 tank was quickly ordered. In an attempt to prevent similar problems in the future, chemistry readings will now be taken three times a day.
The city’s health inspector will have to sign off on the pool’s re-opening. The most recent incident makes it the second time the Berkeley pool has shut down due to a chemical imbalance.