Wondering about toxic effects of cement dust in pool

[rwperry01]

Hi.. We are still under the stress of a new pool installation our pool is currently filled with cement particulates. This isn't a small amount of cement particles, the guy cutting pavers had the wet saw near the edge of the pool such that the dust was spewing into the pool water as he worked. Also, I just found out that the other guy who was mortaring the bullnose coping was rinsing his sponge in the pool water as he worked instead of using a bucket of water. The end result is a pool that is filled with cement and 'dyed' mortar particulates.
We are wondering if the pool water has become toxic. Once we have a cleaned up the bottom and filtered out the suspended particles, will the pool be safe to swim in?
Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[JamesW]

I don't think that there is any reason to be concerned about toxicity due to concrete or concrete dust. Once the water is clean and chemically balanced, you should be fine.

You should start by getting a full set of test results as soon as possible. Concrete dust and cement can contribute to scaling if your water has high pH, TA and/or Calcium hardness.

 

[rwperry01]

Thanks James. I bit of reassurance was nice. Other than the ph which was off the scale, other chem levels look good. I'm adding muriatic to bring the ph down and should be able to enjoy one of the last really warm days of summer.

-Bob

 

[Richard320]

Cement dust is more of a breathing hazard than anything else, so you're safe there. Concrete is, however, extremely alkaline. So keep tabs on the pH. Once it gets vacuumed up, I'd backwash. It could still mess with your chemistry if it's in the filter leaching and/or dissolving.

 

[rwperry01]

Thanks Richard,

Ph is coming down and I did a thorough cleaning of the filter (cartridge)...boy were they black. Water looks great!