We are two part-time paid staff and a working volunteer board of directors. We both have young kids at home, so there is a lot of juggling. I've been doing most of my work at home fore the past six weeks. Thank goodness for Google Drive, Zoom, and other web-based tools (as well as cartoons!). Mike Mansir, our network administrator, has been working from home some and going in off-hours to operate the network. We are funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to operate this essential service keeping tabs on radiological releases in the atmosphere. Our data could be used to help protect the public in the event of an emergency at Seabrook Station.
I'm proud that we've been able to keep the monitoring network going and keep reporting our data to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, despite difficulties doing maintenance on some of our remote sites due to the need for social distancing. I've been busy researching and writing about what is going on at Seabrook in light of the pandemic, which is especially sensitive now, due to the fact that they have had several hundred contract workers involved in refueling and maintenance during the month of April. We've been communicating with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's resident inspector at the plant, as well as government officials at the local, state and federal level and plant owner NextEra Energy themselves. Based on what I've learned from NextEra and the NRC, I am confident they are following best practices to reduce the spread of the virus.
Aside from our mission working for the safety of Seabrook's neighbors, I've been working hard to figure out how to keep our organization financially healthy into the future. We rely on a mix of state funding, member contributions, business sponsorhips and foundation grants -- all of which are uncertain due to the economic situation.
We've been reaching out to our donors to thank them for their support, sending newsletters and posting frequently on Facebook.com/c10foundation. I am very thankful that we were able to secure a payroll protection loan under the CARES Act, with assistance from the Institution for Savings.
We are grateful to State Rep. James Kelcourse and Senator Diana DiZoglio for their belief in C-10's importance to help keep their constituents safe and informed, and we are hopeful that they will be able to convey the value of real-time radiological monitoring to their colleagues when it comes time to take up the fiscal year 2021 budget -- whenever that happens.
Natalie Hildt Treat Executive Director
Phone: 978-465-6646
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