No injuries reported in HazMat situation at Aurora pool

No one was injured during a hazardous materials situation Saturday evening at an aquatic center in west suburban Aurora.

Fire crews responded at 6:17 p.m. to the Phillips Park Family Aquatic Center, 828 Montgomery Rd. in Aurora, after an employee reported an unknown substance leaking from a small building next to the facility, according to a statement from the Aurora fire department. The situation was then upgraded to a Level II HazMat response and the Aurora Fire Department Hazardous Material Team responded to the scene.

It was determined that the leaking substance was hydrochloric acid, a chemical used to raise the pH of water in swimming pools, fire officials said. It was estimated that between 5 and 10 gallons of the chemical leaked from a 30-gallon poly tank.

The leak was caused by a 500-gallon poly tank that started to backfill after being refilled on Friday, fire officials said. It is not clear why the 500-gallon poly tank started to backfill with water from a pool water line, pushing the product into the 30 gallon poly tank and causing the spillage.

The HazMat team used sodium bicarbonate to neutralize the hydrochloric acid, making it safe for cleanup, fire officials said.

Swimmers who were in the pool when the leak was discovered were evacuated before fire crews arrived, fire officials said. No injuries were reported.

It’s unknown how much money was lost due to the incident, fire officials said.