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SINGAPORE – Residents were startled by a loud bang after a swimming school dumped 45 kg of powdered chlorine into public sewers.
An on-site maintenance guy in Jurong East had dismissed it without realizing it would cause a reaction.
The Happy Fish Swim School worker performed around 8.30pm on Friday (March 5), after noticing a strong smell from the chlorine drum, which had been in contact with the humid air. No injuries or damage were reported.
The school’s founder, Tan Jian Yong, said the maintenance manager “took the initiative to dispose of the chlorine powder in the sewage without knowing it would cause problems.”
He wrote on Facebook: “Chlorine is very reactive to germs, bacteria and other chemical compounds that can be found in general sewers. As a result, it inevitably caused a chemical reaction. A loud sound alarmed neighboring residents.”
Mr. Tan said that school operations were not affected and that classes would run safely as normal. He added that the maintenance man was taken to the hospital for a check-up.
The Singapore Civil Defense Force said it received a call for assistance around 8.35pm.
The firefighters used a jet of water to mitigate the presence of gas produced by the chemical reaction.
A spokesperson for the national water agency PUB said a “large amount” of calcium hypochlorite had been discharged into the sewers. The chlorine compound is commonly used as a disinfectant or bleaching agent.
The spokesperson said the accident did not affect the sewage system or the quality of the water used, which flows to recovery plants for treatment.
“PUB is investigating the incident and continues to closely monitor the situation,” he added.
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