WALTON, Ky. — Earlier this week, some Boone County residents reported seeing a strange green mist in the air. By Thursday, some were still wondering if it was harmful to their health.

The county emergency management department said there’s no need to worry.

Boone County Emergency Management received several calls Tuesday morning that were a little out of the ordinary. They were coming from the Verona area from people seeing a green mist.

“A lot of people were concerned," said Sgt. Anthony Theetge of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. "It’s something they don’t see. Being around a landfill, some people were calling about a smell they had." 

Theetge said as far as he knows, the mist is cleared out. It appeared the mist emanated from the Bavarian Waste landfill, with Theetge calling the situation “the imperfect storm of a lot of things that combined all at once.”

He said the landfill was destroying a byproduct of soap-making, with factors such as low temperatures, a little humidity in the air and Canadian wildfires all contributing. 

“It was an all-natural product," Theetge said. "There were no harmful chemicals or anything like that involved."

“There’s a reason that colors and odors are added to toxins and things like that. So nobody’s blaming anybody for calling, but luckily, these weren’t toxic.”

Boone County let people know via Facebook not to worry and said the non-hazardous materials of PHC and oil-based waste were “properly and safely disposed.”

Theetge said it was a rare occurrence but has happened before in other locations. As the county put it, “No, you didn’t wake up in a horror movie.”