**UPDATE: See the bottom of this story for new information released by city hall.**
CORNWALL, Ontario – Swimmers at the Cornwall Aquatic Centre were exposed to a chemical leak that sent pool employees to the hospital and forced the closure of the facility.
A source has provided Seaway News with information that suggests a two-inch hole in a refrigerant supply line ruptured last Wednesday, June 8, spraying the interior of the aquatic centre with Freon.
This newspaper has learned the leak initally went undetected and created a haze within the facility that worsened throughout the day.
A source tells Seaway News the leak spread for several hours before it was discovered and a decision was made to close the facility. In that time staff at the aquatic centre, and swimmers, were exposed to the material.
Seaway News has uncovered that three staffers at the pool later complained of symptoms including nose bleeds, eye irritation, nausea and missed work as a result of the incident. The employees were urged to visit the hospital, but not until the next day.
A city social media post on June 8 suggested programming at the facility would be suspended “due to a mechanical issue.” No other details were provided by the city at the time, but following this report the city issued a media release at about 5:30 p.m. Monday.
That delay is not sitting well with members of council.
“Obviously someone in that chain of command has to identify this as something that has to go out to the members of the public,” said Coun. Maurice Dupelle, who has been critical of the city’s communication practices in the past. “I don’t have any information at this point – if the city is supposed to be letting the residents know and raising the alarm bell, usually there is a protocol that is followed.”
Dupelle said council had not been officially advised of any issues at the pool, though members have been cc’d on some emails.
“I’m trying to get a hold of (CAO Maureen Adams) to get those questions answered to find out why we weren’t notified. I would think the general manager from that department would be sending out a quick email as a line of communication.”
Coun. Claude McIntosh was likewise blindsided by the news.
“We shouldn’t be hearing this from people like you,” he said of media calls. “You have all the info and I don’t have anything.”
Parks and recreation manager Jamie Fawthrop told Seaway News the incident was not released by the city because it was felt exposure to the public was minimal and decision-makers did not want to create unnecessary fear.
“We don’t want to create any kind of hysteria that the pool is unsafe,” he said. “The pool was shut down and the issue was fixed. By six the next morning the pool was reopened.
“You don’t want to create some sort of fear out there that it is not a safe facility.
“It’s hard to kind of gauge…you don’t want the public to sort of overreact to it.”
Fawthrop said the city shared information with hospital staff so that if members of the public presented in the emergency room with symptoms consistent with Freon exposure doctors would know the source.
“I contacted the hospital and told them we were sending (employees) to the hospital. I let them know what the timeline was,” he added. “We don’t believe that there was any kind of serious health threats to the public.
“It’s our staff who would have been the most exposed having been in there for the longest period of time.”
Mayor Leslie O’Shaughnessy could not provide details on the issue, and he added council is not in a position to provide direction to administrators on an incident like this.
“Do I feel that I have to be notified every time something happens in regards to health and safety? No I don’t. That’s why we have administration,” he said. “We don’t fix health and safety issues.
“Administration, once they became aware of it, are on top of it.”
The mayor said the city is still investigating the issue.
“Exactly how things transpired…we don’t really know,” he said.
City human resources manager Geoff Clarke confirmed three pool employees were affected by the leak.
Clarke said the leak came from an elbow joint within the HVAC system at the facility.
He could not answer questions as to why the public was not made aware of this issue sooner.
Tommy Sauve, the city’s health and safety officer, said he took action as soon as he was notified of the issue at the pool.
“Once I was made aware of it, I immediately contacted the supervisor and gave a direction to get a hold of the employees and to send them to the hospital,” he said. “And then I initiated an internal health and safety claim and the documents were filed for WSIB.”
Municipal managers had to be called in last week to reassure concerned aquatic centre staffers, many of whom were worried about the status of the facility. And perhaps most troubling is that this is not the first time concerns have arisen at the aquatic centre.
Seaway News has in its possession municipal documentation which suggests several other occasions like this have taken place where employees have been exposed for hours while repairmen try to isolate a problem.
The aquatic centre reopened to public use the next day after the hole had been repaired and the air cleared of Freon.
Mild symptoms of Freon exposure include excitability, dizziness, changes in heart rate and headaches. The lining of the throat or nose may become irritated, and the throat may swell. Pain in any exposed mucous membranes, such as the mouth, throat or eyes, is common after exposure. These symptoms can occur within minutes. More serious symptoms can occur after prolonged exposure.
Freon is used as a refrigerant in HVAC systems and air conditioners.
CITY HALL NEWS RELEASE:
In light of some questions that have arisen in a local media report, we wish to provide details regarding the shutdown of the Aquatic Centre on Wednesday, June 8th.
– At around 10:15 am, an Aquatic Centre employee raised concerns about the air quality inside the pool area by identifying a possible haze. Staff immediately began taking steps to determine the cause of the air quality concerns. This included calling in a private contractor to investigate. The initial inspection did not uncover any apparent underlying problem. Seeing no visible change in air quality, a more detailed inspection was conducted at the pool at 3:30 pm. At this point, a refrigerant leak was detected and steps were immediately taken to close the pool. Aquatic Centre staff and members of the public were advised to stay out of the pool deck area.
– Steps were undertaken immediately to notify the public of the pool closure. This included posting a notice on the City of Cornwall and Aquatic Centre Facebook page, updating the Aquatic Centre page on the City website, making direct calls to scheduled pool clients and erecting signage at the facility.
– The contractor located and isolated the leak and made the necessary repairs. The pool was reopened for regular programming as of 6 am on Thursday.
– All available information at the time did not cause the City to believe the public was at risk. It was not until the following morning that staff who may have been affected due to longer exposure sought appropriate precautionary medical attention. In consideration of that information and with no other complaints being brought forward, it was assessed that there was no risk to the public.
– Staff met with employees of the Aquatic Centre on Monday afternoon to share information on exactly what happened, how the problem was fixed and planned steps for the future.
– To prevent a reoccurrence, the City is exploring various methods of early detection of refrigerant leaks.
– Despite this occurrence, the Aquatic Centre is a safe facility and residents should not have any concerns about making use of it. It is inspected on a routine basis in addition to annual planned shutdowns for maintenance.
