SAN JOSE, Calif. _ A summer afternoon at a neighborhood San Jose swimming pool took a frightening turn Thursday when at least 35 people, including kids, were exposed to a dangerous mixture of chemicals.
All of the people exposed to a mixture of pool chemicals muriatic acid and chlorine, which created a gas cloud at the Shadow Brook Swim Club in Almaden Valley, were in the process of being decontaminated and transported to hospitals, according to the San Jose Fire Department.
The patients included children as young as 6 and parents. All of those who were exposed were being decontaminated Thursday afternoon and their health was being monitored, said San Jose Fire Capt. Mitch Matlow. They were in the process of being sent to hospitals.
At least a few of the patients displayed symptoms of exposure, including shortness of breath and vomiting, Matlow said.
At a news briefing at 2 p.m., Matlow said 20 people were exposed to the gas mixture but cautioned the number could increase. A short time later, the number of patients grew to 35.
"We are taking this very seriously," Matlow said. "That combination of chemicals can release a gas cloud that can cause what's called secondary drowning. The lungs start swelling up with its own fluid, the fluid blocks the airwaves and you drown in your own fluids."
Matlow said the mixture of these chemicals could be "potentially fatal" but did not specify if any of the people affected at the pool were seriously injured.
The incident happened just after noon at the Shadow Brook Swim Club. The Fire Department sent its hazardous materials team to respond.
All of those exposed to the chemical mixture were being washed off, given new clothes and then being taken to local hospitals, Matlow said.
Matlow said exposure to the chemical mixture could lead to serious health consequences.
"Long term, those patients could end up on ventilators and be attached to a breathing machine for quite some time until their lungs heal enough to breathe on their own," Matlow said.
However, it's also possible that none of the pool-goers were exposed enough to warrant a long-term stay at the hospital.
"It could be they get exposed and it's not enough to burn their airways and they go home from the hospital hours after they've been observed," Matlow said.
Staci Tenczar, vice president of the Shadow Brook homeowners association board of directors and involved with the swim team, said, "We have no comment at this time."
