OH, SNOW – THIS IS SNOW GOOD! Puns aside, this blog post is meant to express our distress and call-to-action at hearing about brown snow falling from the sky in Rumford, Maine. This concerning anomaly was caused by a malfunction at one of the last paper mills in Maine, the historic and operational Rumford Paper Mill.
The town of Rumford knew there was a malfunction because brown snow fell from the sky on Tuesday, December 10, 2024. The malfunction released black liquor—a byproduct of the paper production process—into the air. This problem understandably shocked and concerned Rumford residents, who are worried about the safety and protection of their beautiful River Valley. Rumford is not just the site of a paper mill; it is the home of the Great Rumford Falls along the Androscoggin River, an area humans have cultivated for centuries. In the last century, beautiful buildings along a stunning river view have been enacted to promote and support one of the significant heritage industries in Maine, pulp and paper.
Now, facing the need to protect our climate more than ever, a new type of support and beautification for our industries needs to be enacted. As our industrious predecessors at Rumford and our Indigenous predecessors knew, a beautiful place full of abundance attracts people and long-standing industries. Rumford architecture is almost exclusively drop-dead gorgeous designs of 100-year-old Beaux-Arts Classical and Italian Renaissance Revival. Rivers and mountains surround Rumford. It is such a beautiful place, and we at cannot wait to help develop our 0-emission technologies for our Pulp and Paper Industries in communities like this worldwide.
You may already know that we at are developing Ocean Compostable Fish Friendly service-industry to-go packaging. However, perhaps you are just now learning that we are also developing technology that turns our manufacturing mills into PLANTS, People Leveraging Advances of Natural Technologies Sustainably. Beautiful buildings in Rumford have had a tremendous positive impact, but that beautiful environment has brought in humans for thousands of years. Our developing industrial exhaust cleaning technologies can help all our mills transform into 0-emission eco-industrial sites, preserving everything we humans need, including jobs within clean and beautiful environments.
According to officials, the brown snow is non-toxic but has a high pH of 10, which can cause skin irritation. Residents have been advised to avoid contact with the snow and to keep children and pets away from it. ND Paper Mill, the present owner of the historic mill, has committed to funding third-party testing of the snow to ensure public safety.
Claudia Lowd, Chief Technical Officer states, “We need to help these mills get better technology now. It seems unbelievable and sad that after all of humanity’s incredible inventions, pulp and paper mills still have issues with brown snow. We know there are now better sensors and AI technology that can be harnessed to prevent these types of releases. It is hard to imagine snow with a pH of 10 that would burn your skin can still be classified as non-toxic. It sure can’t be classified as healthy. Making zero emission mills by capturing all stack and effluent emissions is our way to move forward and keep beloved & believed as a positive impact pulp and paper industry within a community and the environment.”
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is conducting further tests on the snow. The leading solution for this issue was the hope that yesterday’s rain would wash the brown snow away. This is met with growing concerns about the potential for runoff to enter the Androscoggin River. In the meantime, the mill has resolved the malfunction. Officials are reassuring the public that there is no immediate danger to public health but urging everyone to exercise caution. We at are more dedicated than ever to developing our product and commercializing our PLANTS as we see technical paths forward to enhance our industries while protecting our environment. Sometimes, the problem contains the solution, and we investigate that potential here. Are you interested in joining us? Please reach out!
