After divers and water polo athletes began using the pools at the start of the Games, the neutralized chlorine spurred the proliferation of organic compounds, The Times reported. However, the water in the pool for synchronized swimming and water polo was a bit bluer and lighter.
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Unlike Riendeau, some of the competitors complained the water or the chemical treatment hurt their eyes and made underwater visibility hard, reported the New York Times.
The procedure is expected to take 10 hours: six to drain the pool, and four to refill it, said Gustavo Nascimento, the director of venue management for the Rio Olympics.
Rio de Janeiro – Olympic organizers revealed on Saturday that the change in color of the Olympic pools is caused by the dumping of hydrogen peroxide into the water.
“We are hosting the Olympic Games”, he said.
Rio Olympics officials said they have finally solved the mystery of why the waters in two competition pools turned emerald green this week. “We need to make sure people can access the Olympic stadium in a quick and easy manner”, he said. He said it’s a painful lesson for them to learn.
Nascimento said hydrogen peroxide is a good pool cleaning agent but not when combined with chlorine.
There still remains one more week of diving, water polo and synchronized swimming competition events before the Rio Games finishes next Sunday. “The water in the warm-up pool is in flawless condition”.
Their explanation was about as clear as the green soup in the pool outside, but in essence it was explained as a simple bungle that will bemuse those who own a backyard pool – they used the wrong chemicals.
He blamed a contractor for mistakenly dumping hydrogen peroxide into the pool late last week, which caused an adverse reaction when it mixed with chlorine. I’ve never had a pool like this ever before.
Officials said 160 liters (or more than 42 gallons) of hydrogen peroxide was mistakenly added to the pools on August 5, The New York Times reported.
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In the past week, several water players have complained about how much their eyes have stung during matches. Due to the absence of chlorine the water appears to have become a breeding ground for alga, turning the colour of the water emerald green. “But it’s a pool, and if you’re a competitor like we all are – if you’re here for the right reason – you’re not anxious about that”.
