Plumes of purple vapor seen rising from Tennessee chemical plant after iodine release

Residents in Kingsport were “strongly advised” to avoid the area after the chemical plant suffered a power outage

Plumes of vapor rise from the Eastman Chemical Company plant in Kingsport, Tennessee, on Friday (WHJL)

Large plumes of purple vapor seen above an industrial chemical plant in Tennessee prompted concerned residents to flood local news networks.

On Thursday, residents of Kingsport were “strongly advised” to avoid the area around Eastman Chemical Company facility after the plant suffered a power outage just before 11am.

The chemical company said in a statement that residents may hear “loud steam venting” and see plumes of steam as the site shuts down, WJHL reported.

According to the company, an iodine release from the site caused a “purple plume” of vapor that was visible for several miles.

Viewers began to flood News Channel 11's phone and inbox with calls and messages raising concerns surrounding a purple vapor that appeared to be rising from the Eastman facility.https://t.co/5VBIeirK12

— WJHL (@WJHL11) July 22, 2022

“This release has been stopped,” Eastman said in the statement. “We have no reason to believe this plume presented a threat onsite or outside of our plant.”

The City of Kingsport issued a warning just before 1pm to avoid the area around the plant which straddles both sides of the South Fork Holston River.

“City officials are currently monitoring the situation in an attempt to gather further information,” it said.

WHJL said it was inundated with calls from concerned local residents.

The city of 55,000 residents lies just south of the border with Virgina.

The company earlier imposed a shelter in place order on workers as it shut down operations and said in a news release that there was no threat to the public. The shelter in place order has since been lifted.

It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.