A leak of muriatic acid near the swimming pool pumps at the downtown branch of the Meadville Family YMCA led to the evacuation of the building Monday morning and forced a closure for the rest of the day, according to Lt. Joe Smock of Meadville Central Fire Department.

No one was injured in the incident, Smock said.

The Y posted a notification of the incident to its Facebook page at 9:05 a.m.

“The Downtown Y has been evacuated due to an acid leak in the pool area,” the posting said. “Everyone is OK and emergency services are on-site. Childcare has been evacuated to First Baptist Church. We ask that parents please pick up their children as soon as possible. Please stay tuned to our Facebook page for more details.”

Smock said the leak appeared to have been caught early when a Y staff member performing morning checks of the swimming pool facility noticed “that it smelled a little different than before.”

After spotting an overflow of muriatic acid on the floor near the pumps, Y staff members applied sodium bicarbonate to counteract the spill, Smock said.

Muriatic acid, also known as hydrochloric acid, is used to lower the pH levels of swimming pool water.

Hydrochloric acid harms the skin, nose, eyes, throat and larynx, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sodium bicarbonate, a base, can be used to neutralize hydrochloric acid. 

“They have certain procedures in place after it happened first time,” Smock said in reference to an incident at the Downtown Y in March when a defective pump led to a backflow of muriatic acid. “Last time it was pretty severe. Today there wasn’t anything (registering) on our gas meters.” 

Any updates will be posted on the Meadville Family YMCA’s Facebook page.

Updates also are expected to be posted on The Meadville Tribune’s website and Facebook page.