Page 12 - Flathead Beacon // 7.20.16

NEWS
EPA, USFS Allocate $2.1 Million to Support Fire ghting E orts O cials say the money will be used to expedite re ghting responses at shuttered mine in Libby
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
The Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Forest Service are spending $2.1 million this summer to support and improve re ghting e orts at the shuttered W.R. Grace & Co. asbes- tos mine north of Libby.
Federal, state and local o cials have long worried about the health impacts on both re ghters and the public should a wild re break out near the asbestos mine, which was at the center of one of the largest environmental contamina- tions in U.S. history. Asbestos can be found in the bark of trees in and around the mine in a 47,000-acre area desig- nated Operable Unit 3, or OU3.
Since the mid-2000s, the USFS has
stationed a team of re ghters in Libby that is specially trained to deal with res in OU3. Although in years past the USFS tried to ght all blazes near the mine from the air, that method proved inef- fective. Now if a re breaks out, the re- ghters go in wearing respirators. They also have to decontaminate themselves after being exposed to the smoke and dirt inside OU3.
Traditionally, funds for the OU3 re- ghters came from the USFS, but Koo- tenai National Forest District Ranger Nate Gassman said that money was never guaranteed. This month, however, the EPA and USFS signed a joint-action memorandum to dedicate funding to the e ort on an annual basis, starting with the 2016 re season.
Gassman said the money would be used to ensure that re ghters have the equipment they need and that a re- ghting helicopter is always available to douse a blaze in OU3. Currently, if a blaze breaks out near the mine, re ghters would have to wait like everyone else for air resources, but now the Libby-based crews will have priority when it comes to ordering aircraft.
“This action memo will ensure that funding is always available to have resources dedicated to OU3,” EPA Proj- ect Manager Christina Progress said. “This solidi es our commitment to ght- ing re in OU3.”
Over the last few years, the EPA and USFS have tried to study what happens when asbestos-infested trees catch re.
O cials say those tests have only con- rmed their concerns about re ghter and public safety. Should a re start inside OU3, state, local and federal o - cials would deploy air-monitoring sta- tions around the area to ensure that the air is safe to breathe.
W.R. Grace is currently working with the EPA on preparing two separate fea- sibility studies that will look at how OU3 should be cleaned up. One study will focus on the forested area around the mine, and the other will include the mine site and nearby rivers. O cials hope to nish both by late 2016 or 2017. Once those studies are completed, the EPA will put together a proposed cleanup plan and then issue a record of decision.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
Nurses Push for Protections Against Workplace Violence Group seeking legislation that would make assault of healthcare provider or emergency responder a felony
BY CLARE MENZEL OF THE BEACON
Healthcare workers and state o cials met in Kalispell last week to discuss the problem of violence that nurses and emergency responders frequently face while on duty.
The meeting was the third of seven events hosted by the Montana Nurses Association as part of a campaign to increase awareness of assault against healthcare workers and drum up sup- port for state legislation that would make assaulting an on-duty nurse or emer- gency responder a felony, a protection enjoyed by Montana law enforcement o cers, sports o cials, and police dogs.
Nearly 30 workers and supporters attended the July 15 event at the Hil- ton Garden Inn, where Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, the father of a nurse, spoke.
“Assaulting a nurse, the folks who work hard to keep us healthy each and every day, cannot and will not be toler- ated,” Tester said. “For you to do the best work, it is critical that you’re able to pro- vide care in a safe environment, and that is why I’ve partnered with the Montana Nurses Association to sponsor legislation that will improve safety conditions.”
According to a 1997 study published in Nursing Management, healthcare work- ers are 16 times more likely than other service workers to face risk of violence from patients or clients. Forty-three percent of RNs and nursing students in a 2013-14 American Nurses Association nationwide survey reported experienc- ing verbal and/or physical threats by a patient or family member of a patient. Twenty-four percent of respondents reported physical assault.
The Montana Nurses Association began collecting personal stories from nurses across the state after a bill to pro- tect healthcare workers failed at the 2015 Legislature. Kezia Lovelady, a certi ed nursing assistant from Helena who has experienced verbal, sexual, emotional, and physical abuse while on the clock, shared one story of assault at last week’s meeting.
A few months ago, she and another CNA were trying to help a patient to the bathroom when he hurled profani- ties and insults at them. But because, as Lovelady noted, “a fall would be devas- tating for him,” the CNAs “were forced to stay very near him.”
The verbal assault continued, and the patient sat down on his bed only after “viciously biting his IV line in half, spurting blood” on himself, his bed and
oor, and the CNAs. By the time the secu- rity team showed up, “the damage had already been done.”
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