A bright orange plume of smoke released into the sky from a container at a chemical research plant in Palm Bay was part of a safety feature and was not harmful, fire officials reported.
The orange cloud — which hovered over the area — was seen rising from the FAR Research Center at 2210 Wilhelmina Ct. about 3:50 p.m. Monday, Sept 29, in the northeast section of the city. Some residents took to social media to report that a heavy ‘bleach smell’ emanated from the mist.
No one was injured and the unspecified mist did not harm the surrounding area, Palm Bay Fire Rescue officials said.
Multiple Palm Bay Fire Rescue vehicles responded to the site. Testing was also done and came back negative for anything harmful to people or the surrounding environment, fire officials said.
Assistant Fire Chief John Ringleb said a container at the chemical plant released the vapor into the air after venting.
“The container’s safety mechanism functioned as designed, activating when pressure levels reached a point deemed unsafe,” Ringleb said.
“The plant manager met with our personnel to review the incident and provide details about the materials involved. This was a single, isolated event,” he said.
The chemical plant was also the location of a series of explosions that rattled the plant and the surrounding neighborhood in September 2020, sending black smoke into the sky. No one was injured in that incident, fire officials reported.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Or X, formerly known as Twitter: @JDGallop
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Orange plume at Palm Bay chemical plant safe, fire officials report
Reporting by J.D. Gallop, Florida Today / Florida Today
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