Cause of pink plume at Portland waste incinerator unclear
The Maine Bureau of Air Quality is on the scene at Ecomaine, a commercial waste incinerator in Portland, after pink smoke started pouring from the smokestack on Thursday afternoon.
While the cause of the pink smoke at the Blueberry Road facility was not immediately clear, investigators were working with management to determine if there was any immediate health risk, according to Jeff Crawford, bureau director.
He said that the smoke could be from the facility’s pollution control management system, or could just be from the combustion of a reactive material.
A pink plume was reported at a New Jersey incinerator when materials containing iodine were burned, Crawford said. It was not clear how much iodine would have to burn to affect the color of the smoke at the Portland facility.
While there were no immediate health concerns, Crawford noted that the DEP would work with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to issue an alert if there was a risk to the community.