Potassium permanganate:
Potassium permanganate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KMnO4. It is a purplish-black crystalline salt, that dissolves in water as K+ and MnO−4, an intensely pink to purple solution.
Potassium permanganate is widely used in the chemical industry and laboratories as a strong oxidizing agent, and also as a medication for dermatitis, for cleaning wounds, and general disinfection. It is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. In 2000, worldwide production was estimated at 30,000 tons. [Wikipedia]
Seems a bit out of my usual run of words, but just hold on here. From “Why is water in this Iowa town turning pink? Don’t drink it, officials warn,” Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star:
“Every time you flush toilet, you turn the water on — pink,” Kara Robinson, who lives in Shelby, Iowa, told KETV.
Robinson is one of many Shelby residents encountering the issue that city officials said began overnight Sept. 8 when two of the town’s four wells did not properly reset.
It caused an excess of potassium permanganate to penetrate the system, turning the water pink.
