AP Features, April 26th, 2007
Nearly 100 residents were taken to hospitals Wednesday with burns or rashes after the town's water supply was accidentally treated with too much corrosive lye, officials said. No serious injuries were reported.
People in Spencer were advised not to use or touch the water until further notice, said Town Manager Carter Terenzini.
Residents started complaining of skin irritation and moderate burns after showering early Wednesday, police Sgt. John Agnew said. Officials determined that a malfunction at the town's water treatment plant had released too much sodium hydroxide into the water supply.
Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is routinely put into water to reduce acidity and limit pipe corrosion, said Ed Coletta, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.
People who displayed rashes or burns were taken to hospitals, Spencer firefighter Ryan Flannery said. Most calls came from downtown Spencer, a city of 12,000 about 50 miles west of Boston.
Fifty-six people were seen at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, and all but one person with an unrelated health condition were expected to be sent home Wednesday night, said hospital spokeswoman Alison Duffy.
Most of the 41 people taken to St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester also were released Wednesday night, said spokesman Dennis Irish. A man who had chest pains while being decontaminated was admitted to the hospital.
The state advised residents to discard any liquids or foods made with town water Tuesday or Wednesday.
As of 11:30 a.m., about 12 people were undergoing "decontamination" treatment at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Terenzini said. He did not know whether those people drank the water, or if it touched their skin.
Without water, many local businesses had to close. David Cao, owner of the Spencer Coin and Clean laundry, said he turned customers away and closed all the washing machines.
"We don't have business today," Cao said. "We really will have to see when they come back."
The excess chemical was to be removed by evening and the water supply would be subject to extensive environmental testing, Terenzini said.
Flannery said bottled water companies delivered drinking water to the fire station, where residents could pick it up. Officials were arranging to deliver drinking water to people who couldn't get to the fire station, he said.
