CHP: Plan Your COVID-safe Mammogram

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — You can have a COVID-safe mammogram. If you are overdue for yours now's the time to make your appointment.
 
In the early months of COVID-19, mammography numbers declined dramatically in the U.S. as hospitals and health care facilities suspended elective and preventive medical care to reduce virus transmission. Now, with more awareness of how to prevent COVID-19 transmission, mammograms and other diagnostic care are being offered again in safe surroundings.
 
One in eight women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime, but early detection with a mammogram can be key to beating the disease. Early detection is a key factor in successfully treating breast cancer, and we urge all of our women patients to schedule their mammogram—especially if they have not had one within the last 24 months.
 
Medical facilities are aggressive in ensuring safe diagnostic settings for both staff and patients: visitors and patients are pre-screened for COVID-like symptoms. Waiting rooms and common areas are set up for appropriate physical distancing. Staff and patients must wear face coverings.  Medical equipment and patient rooms are disinfected frequently.
 
The American Cancer Society recommends women age 40-44 begin getting mammograms; women 45-54 should get a mammogram yearly, while women 55 and older can be screened every two years, or annually. But the ACS reported a 90 percent drop this year in mammography screenings.
 
Cancer experts are concerned that delayed breast cancer screening can impact treatment options and patient mortality. The National Cancer Institute projects that missed preventive screenings during COVID-19 could lead to about 10,000 additional deaths from breast and colon cancer over the next 10 years.
 
The importance of breast cancer screening, and the benefits of early detection, far outweighs the risk of contracting COVID-19, given the safety protocols in our medical facilities.
 
Contact your CHP health care practice to arrange your mammogram.
 

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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