Officials Investigating as Strange Purple Vapor Billows Out of Waste Plant
For residents of Portland, Maine, “Purple Haze” is not a Jimi Hendrix tune on the oldies station – it’s a reality glowing in the sky above a local waste management facility.
On both Thursday and Friday, a purple plume rose above the Ecomaine waste management facility in Portland, according to WGME-TV.
Ecomaine CEO Kevin Roche says the colored fumes were probably caused by a load of waste that contained iodine, according to Maine Public Radio.
Although iodine in the air can be a health hazard, the waste authority said it does not believe anyone was directly exposed to the fumes, which were part of the smoke coming up from the facility.
For the 2nd day in a row, pink “vapor” is once again billowing from the stack at @ecomaine.
The company said it was likely caused by iodine in some of the waste they burn. Lots of questions today about why it’s still happening & possible health impacts…
(📸: Jim Doucette) pic.twitter.com/KlrqygDjXa
— Dan Lampariello (@DanWGME) August 4, 2023
The first tinges of purple were noticed Thursday morning at about 9:30 a.m., according to WGME.
Ecomaine said that employees stopped putting trash into the incinerator, and after about two and half hours, the purple fumes went away.
“While vaporized iodine can pose health risks if directly inhaled, it is very unlikely anyone had direct exposure due to the relatively short time the incident occurred,” Ecomaime said in its statement, per WGME reporter Dan Lampariello.
Yesterday, ecoMaine said it took steps to “correct the situation” within 2 1/2 hours.
Their statement: “While vaporized iodine can pose health risks if directly inhaled, it is very unlikely anyone had direct exposure due to the relatively short time the incident occurred…”
— Dan Lampariello (@DanWGME) August 4, 2023
Nate Cronauer, a representative of Ecomaine, said that on Friday, workers saw the purple plume at about 8:30 a.m. and stopped burning trash, according to the Portland Press-Herald.
“We’re confident it is purple vapor coming from a source of iodine that came in through the waste stream,” he said.
He said the company does not believe anyone was directly exposed to the fumes.
Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection is joining in the hunt for what’s going on, David Madore, a representative of the agency, said.
Madore said no prior incidents of purple fumes have taken place in Maine.
Isn’t this how @StephenKing books begin? The purple smoke was from an “iodine issue” for the second day running at a waste recycling facility near Portland, Maine. pic.twitter.com/ZVW8imYHKk
— Alexander Hitchen (@AlexHitchen) August 4, 2023
Ecomaine said other facilities that burn waste to create energy have had the issue, and the culprit was iodine in the chambers where the waste was burned.
The company said the incident should serve as a reminder to consumers to dispose of waste properly.
The Press-Herald noted that in 2019, a Newark, New Jersey, waste-generating facility experience a similar problem.
The problem in New Jersey was eventually traced to iodine that had come into the facility from a nearby chemical company.
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