Crews in Lee County are taking extra safety precautions before they get in the Kinchanfoonee Creek to clean-up those roofing nails we told you someone dumped at a popular swimming spot.
Friday, several members of the Community Emergency Response Team stopped by the Lee County health department and got Tetanus shots that will offer them protection during the clean-up.
No one likes to get shots, but a few seconds of pain is better than contracting a potentially deadly disease.
Today, several volunteers with the Community Emergency Response Team took a proactive approach to make sure they are protected before they hit the waters tomorrow in search of roofing nails.
Someone intentionally put hundreds of roofing nails in the creek..near the blue hole. So far, nearly 700 nails have been collected but there is no telling how many more lurk underwater. "With as many nails in there it is going to be kind of hard not to get stuck," said Mike Gonzalez.
In case someone does get stuck, volunteers are doing everything possible to make sure they are protected from Tetanus or any other diseases.
Tetanus is an infection of the nervous system. A potentially deadly bacteria lives in the soil and a person becomes infected when the bacteria enters a wound. It causes lockjaw and muscle spasms. One in five infected people die without treatment.
In addition to vaccines they also plan to wear protective equipment before they enter the water. "We are going protected with penetration proof boots, gloves maybe long sleeve shirts," said Dale Richter, a volunteer with the Lee Co. Community Response Team.
And these volunteers are donating their time and money to make sure the waterways are safe for others. "This one just has a huge potential to be dangerous to a lot of people and its going to take us a lot of effort,"said Richter.
"Someone has to clean it up and it wont be the people who dumped it in there cleaning it up," said Gonzalez.
They will be out there until everything is cleaned up. Crews plan to spend several hours out cleaning they plan to use magnets and other equipment to help recover nails or any other potentially harmful debris.
We do want to remind people that the area will be closed off to the public Saturday.@
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