Airmen keep Yokota AB safe, healthy for relief efforts

  • Published
  • By Airman John Partlow
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) --  A group of Airmen here are working to keep the people at Yokota AB safe.

Members of the 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron ensure that Airmen around base are safe during operations by ensuring prudent safety precautions are implemented.

To do this, technicians visit worksites where harmful elements are present, such as those that potentially expose individuals to risks from harmful chemicals or radiation, a 374th AMDS technician said.

The 374th AMDS Airmen assess these shops and issue personal protective equipment accordingly.

"The mission can't get done if everyone's sick," said Staff Sgt. Nicholas Sweetman, the 374th AMDS NCO in charge of environmental protection. "Part of our job is ... to make sure people aren't getting sick or injured because of their job's risks."

Since the March 11 natural disasters in Japan, the bioengineer technicians have taken on more responsibility to ensure the safety of people living and working here, he said.

With the on-going crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Yokota AB's bioengineers are working to ensure radiation levels here are safe, a technician said. They test the air at two separate locations on base three times a day. In addition to testing the air, they also regularly test the base water supply and screen aircraft arriving here for radiation exposure.

While radiation levels are currently not a concern here, the 374th AMDS professionals repeatedly test to ensure no one is at risk, Sweetman said.

"We are taking these precautions to put Yokota (Air Base) members minds at ease about the nuclear situation," Sweetman said.

Without the constant vigilance of the 374th AMDS personnel, the base would lack situational awareness on the status of potential health risks around base, he said. These Airmen continue to do their job to ensure members here can carry on with peace of mind.

"I feel like we're actually contributing," Sweetman said. "It's nice to not just see it on the news, but to actually take part in helping."