NZ man injured in pool chlorine explosion
Loud explosions sounding like "gunshots" alerted neighbours to a pool chemical mixing accident in Tauranga south of Auckland.
The Bay of Plenty Times reports that ambulance staff treat a 75 year old man with burns to his eyes and face after he received facial injuries when swimming pool chlorine powder started exploding in a bucket.
The report quotes cable layer Vinnie Thompson who was alerted by what sounded like gunshots, and ran towards the source of the explosions. He knocked on the door of the house where a woman was on the phone calling for assistance. She said her husband was in the backyard.
When he reached the man, he was spraying water onto his face using a hose, with the chlorine still popping and exploding in the bucket beside him.
The man's face looked swollen and red. "I said, are you all right mate. He was still talking and seemed physically all right." He picked up the bucket and put it out of harm's way around the back of the property and then supported the man until the arrival of St John paramedics.
A nearby neighbour who was also first to the scene said she heard loud bangs come from the property and a man yelling, "Ring the ambulance!"
"I just heard this pop, pop, like gunshots." she said. "So I ran over to the back of his house and he was covering his face. I just grabbed the hose and tried to rinse his face"
A Northern Fire Service communications centre spokesperson said the initial report which came from ambulance staff was that someone was working with swimming pool chemicals when the substance exploded. There are reports of burns to an occupant's face.
SPLASH! will update with more information when it becomes available.
Advice on safe handling of chemicals
Gary Nye, now CEO of SPASA Australia, offered some advice regarding pool chemical handling when he was President of SPRAA, following an incident in Sydney in 2014.
• Chemicals can be dangerous goods and should be handled with care.
• Always read the instructions on the packaging.
• Always add chemicals to water, not water to the chemicals. This is because chlorine dust can blow back if water is poured into the chlorine, and that can be very dangerous, potentially permanently damaging your lungs.
• Never use the same bucket for different chemicals. Have a different bucket for each chemical.
• Never mix chemicals and never mix liquid chlorine with dry chlorine – that has the potential to cause an explosion.
Image: George Novak/Bay of Plenty Times
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