50 YEARS AGO Paper plant curbs pollution

An air pollution abatement project costing $500,000 (about $3.5 million today), designed to eliminate the blue haze caused by burning residue from the pulping process, was under way at the Finch, Pruyn & Co. paper mill in Glens Falls. The Brink Mist Eliminator, manufactured by Monsanto Enviro-chem Systems, would filter out microscopic particles which cause hazy conditions during temperature inversions, said Roger Hague, director of environmental control. The haze was first noticed in 1970, when the company began incinerating pulp liquor to comply with water pollution abatement regulations. Previously, the pulp liquor had been dumped in the Hudson River, said Hague. The study had started in September.

—Times Union, May 13, 1972

Looking Back is compiled by C.J. Lais Jr. and Azra Haqqie.