Snowfall is nothing new in Maine, but usually it’s white.
The east Maine town of Rumford experienced a rare weather event Tuesday in the form of brown snow, town officials confirmed on Facebook. A malfunction at a paper mill caused the release of spent black liquor, which sparked the bizarre coloring.
Officials warned residents not to touch the substance after initially saying some of the snow measured a pH level of 10, making the substance an alkali and a skin irritant. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection later tested the tan colored snow and found pH levels of “8 or lower,” the city said.
Black liquor is a by-product of the paper production process, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Photos captured the brown-looking snow spread across an open sports field.
