NY Post – May 18, 2015
by Khristina Narizhnaya, Antonio Antenucci and Rebecca Harshbarger
Workers cleaning the reflecting pools at the 9/11 memorial in Manhattan over the weekend caused such a stink that Hazmat trucks rushed to the site — and it was temporarily shut down.
“People were coughing. I had difficulty breathing,’’ said a cop outside the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum on Sunday, the day after the twin pools were treated with what officials described as nontoxic chemicals to kill algae.
The area around the reflecting pools was closed for about two hours Sunday.
“The Fire Department came and shut everything down, tested everything, then gave the OK to let everyone back in,” a janitor there said.
The janitor claimed that workers “put too much chemicals in the water.’’
But a museum rep said, “The odor was believed to be decomposing algae.’’
“As a precaution, the FDNY temporarily suspended operations on the memorial plaza after a complaint of an odor,” said spokeswoman Margaret Barng.
“It was determined by the authorities that what memorial visitors smelled posed no healthy or safety risks, and operations have resumed.”
Alan Touran, 35, of Canada, said he waited about a half-hour to get into the area.
“They were letting people out, but not letting anyone in,” he said.
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