Bio shop provides peace of mind

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tim Beckham
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  It is a hot day, and an Airman has been walking around base for most of it. He is thirsty, so without thinking he grabs a bottle of water, trusting the water is safe to drink, and with good reason.

The Airmen with the 332nd Expeditionary Aerospace Medical Squadron’s bioenvironmental engineering flight give Airmen that peace of mind by testing the drinking water here, thus reassuring people that what they are drinking is safe.

“There are several brands of water shipped here from different bottling plants, so we work closely with Army preventive medicine and veterinarians to ensure drinking water standards are met,” said Maj. Scott Craigle, the flight’s chief.

Bottled water people get here is examined before it even arrives on base.

“The (bottling) plants are inspected and approved by the Army,” Major Craigle said. “This process requires each plant to perform water quality control tests.”

After the water leaves the plant, it still has one more test to pass before it can be approved for the base.

“After plant production, bottled water is shipped to a secure location here,” Major Craigle said. “We, with the help of the Army, then perform water quality assurance tests. The end result is a safe and healthy water source.”

“Monitoring (water) quality is an important aspect of (our) responsibilities here,” said Staff Sgt. Suzanne Hickmon, noncommissioned officer in charge of the flight.

The shop’s Airmen do more than test the water supply here, however.

“We (monitor) water, soil, air and the local work environment,” Major Craigle said. “We also work closely with civil engineer readiness to respond to chemical, biological and radiological incidents and unidentified hazards.”

With temperatures increasing daily, the bioenvironmental shop Airmen here have an important task to perform.

“We check the heat stress conditions every hour,” said Senior Airman Aubrey Pabon, a bioenvironmental engineering technician. “By checking the temperature, humidity and radiant heat from the sun, we come up with the heat condition, which we use to help people avoid heat stress-related injury.”

The three-person shop makes frequent visits to many offices here to provide work environment assessments.

“We are not there to get anyone in trouble,” Airman Pabon said. “We just want to give them insight on how to fix any problems, anything from personal protective equipment (and) hazardous chemical usage to actual engineering recommendations.

“We are looking out for the health and welfare of the personnel here, and we can’t protect them from something if we are not aware that it exists,” she said.