Saltcake - First Jobs in 1954, by JF

We were led to a very large building that was full of a white crystalline chemical-looking material. We found out later that it was saltcake (Na2S04)-sodium sulfate . It was/is the chemical of choice used for make-up in the Kraft process for making pulp. This I learned later…not then. Our job was to shovel saltcake onto a moving black rubber belt that went through the wall of the building on an upward incline and disappeared into the night. One other boy and I were to shovel as much saltcake as we could during the shift with 10-minute breaks per hour and a half hour break for eating, one at a time. What better way to add saltcake to the process in just the right amount? We were given a little paper mask which kept out some of the flying chemical. It tasted like table salt. Strangely, even lunch tasted like it!. The job wasn’t too bad but was getting old after 8 hours; breaks may have stretched to 13 minutes by the end of the shift.


Years later, I found out that most of the sodium airborne losses in the Kraft processes are actually saltcake and a much smaller amount is other sodium compounds. All sodium compounds are calculated as saltcake (as sodium oxide) and required to be reported to a pollution control authority. The EPA, in its infinite wisdom, decided that saltcake is a toxic chemical, deadly to man and beast. In fact, after a plant (mill) upset in the ‘60s, we got a whole lot on a man’s collards that lived nearby. Fortunately his daughter worked with us and the affair was quickly forgiven and forgotten. We hope.

Our report to the pollution control authority is public knowledge and we found out that we were one of the greatest polluters in the state for a couple of years running. In researching this problem, we called other plants to find out what they were doing and finally found that they were calculating their sodium losses and reporting in a different manner. When we did this, it cut our losses almost in half. After the next report was made public, we were listed as the plant that had most reduced our pollution in the state. This was reported in the media with plenty of accolades from them. It’s always nice to be appreciated for reducing pollution and helping save the planet. Go green!

From 1 Bowater

An example of a "paper mill" car back in 1954 (although this one is much later). A picture is worth a 1,000 words when discussing green technology.

JF