Brown snow fell in the Maine town of Rumford after a malfunction at a paper mill caused the release of spent black liquor.

A couple inches of snow fell in Rumford Monday night and Tuesday morning, but in parts of the community, people noticed brown or tan snow falling from the sky. The town said Tuesday there was a malfunction at the paper mill that caused a release of spent black liquor,

Residents of a Maine town are being asked to avoid touching or ingesting the “brown” show that fell in the area.