Chemical reaction at Kent park sends one man to hospital for respiratory failure
A reaction to chemicals in a vat at Town Square Plaza park caused a man working with the chemicals to be sent to a local hospital on Wednesday.
— image credit: COURTESY PHOTO, Kent Fire Department
Jun 8, 2016 at 11:20AM
An employee of a chemical company was sent to a local hospital at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after exposure to a chemical reaction while working at the city of Kent maintenance building at the Town Square Plaza park.
The park is at Second Avenue North between West Harrison and West Smith streets.
The worker, an employee of the Orca chemical company, suffered respiratory distress after an acid was accidentally mixed with chlorine, according to a Kent Fire Department Regional Fire Authority media release. Both chemicals are used in the water spray play area at the park. Firefighters evaluated the employee and sent him to the hospital as a precaution.
Both Kent RFA Hazardous Materials Response Teams responded to the call, isolated the building, and shut down the pump house that feeds the water park. They then allowed the remaining airborne chemical to dissipate in the wind while monitoring the levels to ensure that no one in the surrounding area was affected. Adjacent to the water park are two large apartment complexes, a library, many businesses and the Green River College campus at Kent Station.
The water park will be closed until the equipment is replaced later this week.
Crews removed from the park the large vat that contained the contaminated materials.