Treatment of
Photographic Laboratory Wastes at
Norton Air Force Base, California
PAUL V. HENNESSY, Vice President
DONALD G. ROSENBERG, Senior Engineer
RAYMOND G. ZEHNPFENNIG, Research Chemist
Montgomery Research Inc.
Pasadena, California
INTRODUCTION
Increased use of photography by military, industrial and commercial users,
and as a hobby has greatly increased the number and size of photographic development facilities in the United States. This has been particularly true for military
installations. The use of film in training and for strategic purposes by toe military has increased many fold in the past 10 years. The film development facilities proposed for Norton Air Force Base are of a magnitude not previously constructed by toe Air Force. Previous approaches to toe treatment of photographic
wastes have been by dilution in large municipal sewage systems or by disposal to
receiving waters that eventually lead to toe ocean. This paper describes the
nature and quantity of the chemicals encountered in various photo processes currently used, discusses the photo development process in simple terms, and describes a solution to toe problems at Norton Air Force Base. The solution at Norton
Air Force Base is particularly interesting in that toe location of toe facility is at
toe upstream end of one of the largest and most utilized ground water basins in the
United States.
THE PROBLEM
Norton Air Force Base disposes of sanitary and industrial wastes through the
facilities of the City of San Bernardino. This disposal is by contractual arrangement between the Air Force and the City. The City of San Bernardino operates
two treatment plants. Each treatment plant employs a biological secondary process. The initial plant is a fixed-nozzle standard rate trickling filter plant. A
newer plant, constructed in 1963, utilizes the activated sludge process. Water
reclamation through spreading of the treated effluent is practiced at both plants.
Both plants discharge the treated effluent tp the Bunker Hill Basin of the Upper
Santa Ana River system. This system is probably the most highly utilized ground
water system in the western United States. The ground water resources of toe Upper ana Lower Santa Ana River systems provide toe basic water supply for San
Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange Counties with a population of approximately
two million persons. This ground water basin is subjected to sophisticated management and has, over many years, been the subject of litigation on matters concerning ground water quality. Becasue of toe foregoing, rigid restrictions are
placed on any use of water within toe Basin toat causes greater than normal degradation of mineral quality. Requirements are imposed upon all waste dischargers
within toe Basin. The gross flow from Norton Air Force Base represents a substantial part (approximately 10 per cent) of toe total flow for toe City of San Bernar-
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