Hot tub caused burns, hair loss, man says
March 2011
Maple Ridge resident Ken Brassington said he suffered burns and hair
loss after a trip to the leisure centre's hot tub.
When he got into the hot tub, he noticed his eyes started burning.
He had to lean back to avoid the fumes.
After his swim, he said he went to shower and noticed his shorts
were bleached.
Later, Brassington went home and said he noticed the hair on his
legs and on the lower half of his body was balled up.
He took another shower at home and said some of his body hair
starting falling out. The hair that didn't fall out had turned
blond.
Brassington called the pool. They asked him to fill out an incident
report and then go to emergency where they checked to make sure his
breathing was normal, he said.
Brassington's respiratory system was fine, but he said he spent
several uncomfortable days suffering from what seemed to be side
effects from chlorine in the hot tub.
Brassington said he had sleepless nights and ended up wearing
sweatpants on his job as a mailman, since his jeans irritated his
skin.
He said his skin was itchy and his hair continued to fall out for
days after the incident.
"It's like a bad sunburn -it takes four or five days [to heal],"
Brassington said.
He is nervous about going back to the pool after what happened.
More than a week later, Brassington said his skin was still itchy.
Recreation manager Christa Balatti said the hot tub was shut down
after the incident, and a thorough investigation is taking place
into what happened. "Definitely, safety is our No. 1 priority,"
Balatti said.
Policies and procedures are also being reviewed, she said.
The chlorine is added using an automated system, but manual checks
are being done every day on the water, Balatti said
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