Chlorine Accident Shuts Down 9/11 Memorial

Some overactive algae caused the 9/11 Memorial in downtown New York to shut down yesterday, thanks to the groundskeepers’ solutions in dealing with said algae.

According to Gothamist, maintenance crews accidentally poured too much chlorine into the two reflecting pools, causing visitors to cough from the toxic fumes, with some reporting headaches. No one was hospitalized or seriously injured, but it’s worth pointing out that chlorine gas has been used as a deadly weapon of mass destruction, from World War One to the current conflict in Syria.

The area was quickly evacuated, but soon reopened after the wind blew the mildly-annoying cloud away into Kaiser territory.

In a statement, an FDNY representative blamed the over-chlorination on “decomposing algae”, which, if you’ve ever had to clean a pool, is maybe six notches below “dealing with international terrorism” in the List of Impossible Things.

[Image via IndustryAndTravel / Shutterstock.com]

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