Ontario, Canada -
Chlorine is usually looked at as a chemical that helps keep pools safe. Unfortunately sometimes it does exactly the opposite. Calypso Waterpark, Canada's largest waterpark is in hot water after 13 children had to be sent to the hospital while visiting the park. The incident was a result of a buildup of excess chlorine in the park's wave pool. All of the children were released from the hospital later that night.

According to Ottawa's CBC News the problems began when park guests, all between the ages of four-years-old to fourteen-years-old, began to have problems breathing while in the pool. Three of the guests also had the symptoms of nausea, vomiting and airway irritation. When paramedics arrived on scene they reported a strong scent of chlorine coming from the pool. Thirteen guests were then taken to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario where they were released the same day.

The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that the accident was the result of a chlorine leak in the pool. The leak occurred after some maintenance work was done on the pool's filtration system. The park did not release whether the workers performing the maintenance were full time employees or seasonal employees.

The filtration system was shut off while it was being worked on, but the system that pumps chlorine in to the pool was not. This lead to the chlorine building up to high concentrations in certain areas of the pool that eventually turned into gas that was inhaled by the park guests that were in this area of the pool.

Water and air quality tests following the incident turned up nothing. This is likely due to the filtration system kicking back in and dispersing the chlorine more equally throughout the pool.

Unfortunately this is not the first incident that Calypso has had recently. According to the Ottawa Citizen the park also had a waterslide crash last month that resulted in two men being sent to the hospital. These recent incidents have lead to the Technical Standards and Safety Authority keeping a bit of a closer eye on Calypso.

Chlorine problems are not totally uncommon in the waterpark world. Just last summer at least three separate incidents at waterparks across the United States lead to guests being sent to the hospital for symptoms caused by exposure to high concentrations of chlorine. According to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario these guests are unlikely to have any long-term health effects as a result.