Police: Sea Lions' Chlorine Injury An Accident, Not Criminal Attack

LAGUNA BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Seventeen sea lions injured and sickened by too much chlorine at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center were victims of an accident, not a criminal attack as was initially suspected, police said Thursday.

Officials initially suspected that someone deliberately slipped chlorine into a pool containing the sea lions on April 27, but the investigation revealed that one of the center's employees did it by mistake, Laguna Beach police Sgt. Tim Kleiser said.

The employee had access to the machines operating the filtration center, he said.

"The employee was unaware of the mishap or the cause," Kleiser said.

All of the sea lions have recovered from their injuries. The sea lions were due to be released the day after the mishap, but were re-injured by the chlorine. Fourteen of the animals were released back into the ocean on June 2. The remaining three were also released before the end of last month, according to the center.

"The PMMC is concerned to learn the results of the investigation and is in the process of reviewing the full report," the center said in a statement. "Due to the ongoing status of our internal review, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center can provide no further comment, but we can assure that our entire organization is taking this matter very seriously, and our priority is and will remain rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing marine mammals."

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