Page 87 - Rukert - 100th Anniversary

PART II BRINGING THE WORLD TO BALTIMORE
MOUNTAINS OF SALT
SALT HAS BEEN USED TO DEICE ROADS IN THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1938. YET, MOST PEOPLE WHO SEE DEICING SALT ON SLIPPERY PAVEMENT DON’T CONTEMPLATE HOW IT WORKS, WHERE IT CAME FROM OR HOW IT GOT THERE.
When salt comes into contact with snow or ice, it creates a brine that freezes at a lower temperature than water. The brine breaks the bond between the snow or ice and the road surface, reducing it to a plowable slush. In addition to melting snow and ice, deicing salt also provides traction.
Deicing salt comes in two forms: rock salt and solar salt. Rock salt is mined out of the ground, where it occurs naturally in ancient underground deposits. These salt deposits are found throughout the world. Much of the rock salt handled at Rukert Terminals is extracted from salt mines located just under the surface of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Trace minerals give some Chilean rock salt a distinctive red or pink hue.
Solar salt is produced by the action of sun and wind on seawater that is pumped into large outdoor ponds or salt flats. As the water evaporates in the sun, it leaves behind a purified salt crystal that can be harvested about once per year. Leftover moisture from the evaporation process can give solar salt a damp consistency. The majority of the solar salt handled at Rukert Terminals comes from the salt flats in Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
The operation at
Rukert Terminals is a critical stop between
the salt mines and evaporation ponds and the roads from
Pennsylvania to Virginia. For decades, salt ships
have been a regular and welcomed sight at Pier
5. A typical vessel loaded with 60,000 metric tons of Chilean rock salt travels through
the Panama Canal and arrives in Baltimore two weeks later.
Using the PECO bulk unloader, crews of three Crane Operators work day and night to discharge the salt in six days. The salt is discharged from cargo holds with a clamshell bucket, weighed in a hopper, and dropped into waiting dump trucks. As the holds empty out, the Crane Operator lowers bulldozers into the ship to pull the salt toward the center of the hold. Employees then use shovels to gather or trim the salt that the bulldozer can’t reach.
The salt is transported by dump truck from the pier to one of several storage piles at the terminal. Expert Heavy Equipment Operators use bulldozers to push the salt into imposing piles. When salt orders are received, employees dig the salt from the pile and load it into waiting dump trucks using a front-end loader. A typical truck leaving the terminal is loaded with 22 tons or nearly 44,000 pounds of deicing salt. The salt is then transported to local municipalities, where it is stored in domes that hold between 1,500 and 3,000 tons of salt. After a storm, Rukert employees routinely load 13,000 tons of salt into 600 trucks each day.
The mountains of salt at Rukert Terminals have been frequently photographed in recent years, especially when employees adorn the largest pile with a “Go Ravens” message during the NFL playoffs.
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