St. Louis Park bleach spill sends 11 to hospitals

Article by: LORA PABST , Star Tribune
Updated: January 17, 2011 - 6:22 AM

Both children and adults got sick from chlorine bleach vapors after a pump-room spill at the Foss Swim School in the Knollwood Mall.

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More than a dozen children and adults were sickened Sunday afternoon by a chlorine bleach spill at a swimming school in a St. Louis Park mall. Eleven people were taken to area hospitals to be checked out as a precaution, a city official said.

Emergency responders were called to the Foss Swim School in the Knollwood Mall around 3 p.m. after people in the pool area began vomiting, coughing and experiencing other respiratory problems, said St. Louis Park spokesman Jamie Zwilling. Forty to 50 people were in the pool area at the time.

John Foss, CEO of Foss Swim School, said about two cups of standard household bleach spilled onto the ground in the pump room, which is next to the pool. When a parent noticed an odor, the parent opened a door to the outside, which caused vapor to roll into the pool area, he said.

"It was basically a fog on the pool, but the effect was very dramatic, both visually and then wondering what it was," Foss said.

The bleach is kept in an outside room; the spill occurred during a routine maintenance procedure to clean pump room equipment.

Some stores were evacuated, but soon reopened. A chemical assessment team from adjacent Hopkins responded to conduct tests. Zwilling said most of the chemicals had dissipated by the time the team arrived. Responders from Hopkins, Edina, Minnetonka, Richfield and Hennepin County joined the St. Louis Park police and fire departments.

Foss said he understands why everyone responded the way they did, given that children were involved and the fog over the pool was dramatic. "No one knew what it was," he said. "When it comes to children, you want to be safe."

Staff writer Heron Marquez Estrada contributed to this report. Lora Pabst • 612-673-4628