Clifton, NJ – A leak of more than 250 gallons of a substance used to disinfect swimming pools caused the evacuation of 200 children and adults from the Jewish Community Center on Scoles Avenue.
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The leak occurred when a pipe or valve break let loose 250 or 300 gallons of hypochlorite solution, "a very strong bleach," from a 500-gallon tank, Deputy Fire Chief Kevin McCarthy said. The tank was in a maintenance room the center uses for its Olympic-sized swimming pool, he said, and the substance, leaked onto the floor of the maintenance room, into the parking lot, and into storm drains.
One of the center's workers was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic for potential exposure to the substance, but was in stable condition, said McCarthy.
As of this afternoon, officials had plugged the leak but awaited the arrival of the state Department of Environmental Protection to direct the cleanup. [northjersey]
B”H Hatzolah did not need to transport anyone to the hospital.