Chlorine Leak from Tank at Yorktown Town Pool Contained
A crack in a storage tank at the Brian J. Slavin Aquatic Center at Shrub Oak Memorial Town Park in Yorktown that allowed 1,400 gallons of liquid chlorine to leak out was contained on site and cleaned up without incident Friday night.
“We were very fortunate that the leak was discovered by an alert Town Parks Department staff member at about 4 p.m. and was determined to not pose any danger to the surrounding neighborhood,” said Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater. “The chlorine was contained within the building, and thanks to the quick response by the Westchester County Hazardous Materials unit and the expertise of a crew from Miller Environmental Associates, the liquid was safely pumped into a separate container and the eight-hour cleanup completed by midnight. They were backed up by the Mohegan Lake Fire Department and the Peekskill EMS in a true team effort.”
Slater said the incident at the Sunnyside Street facility was reported to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
“This is an example of the importance of having well-trained personnel in both the public and private sectors who can mobilize quickly and have the training to know what needs to be done,” Slater said. “In this instance, employee diligence and knowledgeable responders prevented what could easily have been a serious environmental issue and a threat to nearby residents. We can’t thank them enough for their quick action.”
The swimming pool is scheduled to will open for the 2021 season on Saturday, June 5.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/