Campus Alert Archive
YSU

Pool Cleaner Mixes Chlorine Into Muriatic Acid Tank at YSU's Beeghly Center, Sends Worker to Hospital

OHchemical spilladvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Shortly before 9:30 AM EDT on Friday, April 25, 2025, a contractor employee from Barber's Chemicals of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania poured chlorine into the wrong tank at the Beeghly Center natatorium, mixing it with muriatic acid and generating a corrosive chlorine gas cloud. The Beeghly Center was evacuated and closed for most of the day while hazmat teams from three Ohio counties remediated the tank room; one contractor employee was hospitalized. Mahoning County later billed Barber's Chemicals $12,287.55 for cleanup costs.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
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Institution
Youngstown State University
Public Masters · OH
~11,000 studentsYSU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction161 chars
YSU ALERT: Beeghly Center has been evacuated due to a chemical incident in the natatorium. Emergency personnel are on scene. Avoid the area until further notice.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The chemical release occurred in the tank room just off the Beeghly Center natatorium, near the rear of the building by the loading dock; the gas was produced when chlorine was poured into a tank already containing muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid)
Beeghly Center houses the YSU natatorium, the Zidian Family Arena (basketball), and athletic department offices and classrooms; a full building evacuation was the appropriate response given the HVAC connectivity
No students were in the building at the time of the incident, which occurred on a Friday morning before classes
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction288 chars
YSU ALERT UPDATE: Beeghly Center remains closed. HAZMAT teams from Mahoning, Trumbull, and Portage counties are working to remediate the tank room. One individual was transported to the hospital. The gas has not spread significantly beyond the natatorium. We will provide further updates.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The HAZMAT chief's description of 'front end of remediation' at 1:30 PM EDT indicates the decontamination process was well underway but not yet complete, consistent with the 4:30 PM clearance time
Mobilizing hazmat teams from three counties for a pool-chemical mixing accident illustrates the regional mutual-aid structure in Ohio; Trumbull and Portage are the adjacent counties east and south of Mahoning County
The 'not spread significantly beyond the natatorium' characterization is operationally important: it meant other areas of Beeghly Center (the arena, offices) were not contaminated
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction230 chars
YSU ALERT: Beeghly Center has been cleared by HAZMAT teams and cleanup is complete. The building will be open for commencement activities next week. Pool operations remain suspended pending inspection. Thank you for your patience.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The all-clear at approximately 4:30 PM EDT, roughly seven hours after the incident, indicates the remediation of a pool-chemical mixing accident typically requires a full work day even for a gas that does not spread widely
The note that pool operations remained suspended pending inspection reflects standard practice: pool chemistry must be re-evaluated and the faulty tank mechanism corrected before resuming operations
Context

Background

Beeghly Center at Youngstown State University is the university's main athletics complex, housing the Zidian Family Arena, the YSU natatorium, athletic offices, and classrooms. On Friday, April 25, 2025, a contractor employee from Barber's Chemicals of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania was performing routine pool maintenance when he poured chlorine into the wrong chemical tank -- a tank containing muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid). The mixing of sodium hypochlorite (pool chlorine) and hydrochloric acid is a well-documented hazard: it rapidly generates chlorine gas, a toxic substance that causes severe respiratory damage. WKBN reported that the incident occurred shortly before 9:30 AM EDT and sent the contractor employee to the hospital. The building was evacuated, and hazmat teams from Mahoning, Trumbull, and Portage counties responded. The Tribune Chronicle reported that at approximately 1:30 PM, the hazmat chief confirmed his team was handling remediation and the gas had not spread significantly beyond the natatorium; cleanup was completed at approximately 4:30 PM. The Beeghly Center reopened in time for commencement the following week. In June 2025, Mahoning County commissioners voted to bill Barber's Chemicals $12,287.55 for cleanup costs -- the same company had caused an identical incident at the downtown Youngstown YMCA in July 2022.
Analysis

Key Findings

The YSU incident is one of a documented pattern for Barber's Chemicals: the same company caused an identical chlorine-into-acid mixing accident at the downtown Youngstown YMCA in July 2022, raising questions about contractor training and quality control
Pool-chemical mixing accidents are among the most common hazmat incidents at educational institutions with aquatics facilities; the chlorine/muriatic-acid combination is specifically identified in EPA guidance on pool chemical emergencies as a high-risk scenario
The three-county hazmat response and the county's subsequent cost-recovery action from the contractor establish a model for institutional cost-shifting in third-party-caused chemical incidents
Outcome
One Barber's Chemicals employee hospitalized after exposure to chlorine gas; no students or YSU staff were in the building at the time. Beeghly Center was cleared and reopened for commencement the following week. Mahoning County assessed cleanup costs of $12,287.55 to Barber's Chemicals.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Youngstown State University's Beeghly Center evacuated after pool chemical accident (WKBN)
    wkbn.com
  2. News
    YSU building cleared after chemical gas exposure (Tribune Chronicle)
    tribtoday.com
  3. News
    Beeghly Center evacuated (The Vindicator)
    vindy.com
  4. News
    Chemical firm charged $12K for YSU spill (The Vindicator, June 2025)
    vindy.com
  5. News
    Beeghly Center to remain closed overnight following pool chemical accident (WFMJ)
    wfmj.com
Tags
chlorine-gaspool-chemicalsmuriatic-acidcontractor-errorbeeghly-centernatatoriumhazmatthree-county-responseyoungstownohiopublic-masterscost-recovery
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion