Katrina floodwaters a biohazard-laden ‘soup’

  • Published
  • By Louis A. Arana-Barradas
  • Air Force Print News
JACKSON, Miss. --  Airmen who continue to fly search and rescue missions must protect themselves from a host of biohazards in the floodwaters from where they pluck survivors.

Contact with the polluted water, now called “the soup,” can cause rashes, illness and disease, said Col. (Dr.) Lewis Neace, a reserve flight surgeon with the 347th Expeditionary Rescue Group here. The polluted water has caused minor illnesses for a few pararescuemen.

“We’ve had a couple of skin infections and one gastrointestinal illness -- so far,” he said. One crewman was ill enough that he could not fly. “But that was more of a precaution. If he had to go, he would have gone.”

To reduce the risk of contamination, maintenance crews hose down the outside of helicopter with hot water after every mission. They also use a mild bleach solution to disinfect the inside of the aircraft.

The floodwaters brought by Hurricane Katrina have turned into a nasty brew, polluted with “any number of unknown substances,” the doctor said. The water is full of fuel oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, raw sewage, the bodies of hurricane victims, dead animals “and an untold number of spilled hazardous chemicals,” he said.

“I don’t think you can tell for sure what’s in there without a proper, scientific analysis, but it’s certainly not good for you,” said Dr. Neace, commander of the 920th Aeromedical Staging and Transportation Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla.

Dr. Neace is the senior medical official for Air Force units deployed to the Evers Field National Guard Base next to the Jackson International Airport. He left his job at an emergency room in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 30 to come here. He flew to Patrick, where a C-130 Hercules was waiting for him with engines running. He arrived here late that same night and got right to work.

“I honestly don’t know how many hours I’ve worked,” he said.

The doctor has flown on rescue missions that lasted from eight to 10 hours. The rest of the time, Dr. Neace provides medical oversight for aircrews and flight personnel.

And there are several hundred Airmen here to keep safe.

The base is busy. There are more than two dozen HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters of various types on the ramp from six active duty and reserve bases. They share the ramp with C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft of the host 172nd Airlift Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard. And day and night, C-130 Hercules and a variety of other military and civilian aircraft land to deliver supplies and spare parts.

But the main job here is search and rescue, a task at which pararescue teams are experts, said Lt. Col. Bob Thompson, spokesman for the reserve components. He said their extensive medical training and night vision capabilities make them crucial to the relief operation.

“There’s nobody better to do this job at this time,” Colonel Thompson said. “They are the best in the world at what they do.” That is why keeping pararescuemen safe is paramount, he said.

During a rescue mission, helicopters kick up a lot of spray as they hover to lower pararescuemen down for a rescue.

“Some of it you inhale and some of it gets on your clothing,” Dr. Neace said.

Plus, most survivors are wet and some are sick or injured. Some get sick on the aircraft. After dropping people at one of the staging areas in the area, helicopters return to base. Sometimes they are stained with vomit, urine, feces, even blood, he said. That is when the cleanup begins.

Colonel Thompson said after one mission, a pararescuemen returned wet and covered with vomit. His fellow troops hosed him down to ensure he was clean. Then the Airman scrubbed his gear with a mild bleach solution.

“We’re trying to decontaminate stuff as best we can,” Dr. Neace said.

Needless to say, hosing down and cleaning the helicopter is not the best job on the flightline. But it is part of the job for maintenance crews, said Airman 1st Class Ed Bellus, a crew chief with the 347th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron from Moody AFB, Ga. He volunteered to deploy with his unit, and he does not mind cleanup duty.

“We have to keep the people we’re rescuing, as well as the aircrews and maintainers, safe from disease,” the Airman said. “The pararescuemen are working in a biologically unstable environment. We rinse them down to make sure bacteria don’t go along on the next rescue.”

This is the first deployment for the 21-year-old Mentor, Ohio, Airman. He and fellow maintainers live in a big hangar next to the aircraft parking ramp. They sleep on cots and there is no air conditioning to ward off the humidity. But he said he is glad to be here.

“It feels great knowing somebody is going to live because we keep these helicopters flying,” Airman Bellus said.

That is good news for the millions Hurricane Katrina has affected. When the floodwaters recede, the most gruesome aspect of the relief operation begins -- finding the dead. The troops and their helicopters will be here to help with that mission, too.