BILLINGS — The Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter remains closed indefinitely after a federal drug incineration operation went wrong, leaving staff with lingering health effects and the community scrambling to care for stray animals.
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The incident occurred when the FBI was burning methamphetamine at the facility's incinerator and the ventilation system malfunctioned, sending 14 employees to the hospital for treatment.
The employees were treated in hyperbaric oxygen chambers, of which the hospital has only four. Workers decided to pair up and sit two per chamber, and spent three hours each in treatment.
"People are frustrated, people are angry," said Justin Hutchinson, president of the YVAS Board of Directors.
While no animals were harmed in the incident, all were removed from the facility and decontaminated. Some were placed in foster homes, others at partner veterinary clinics, and nearly two dozen cats are now temporarily housed at the shelter's Learning Center on Grand Avenue.
Even though the smoke has cleared, shelter staff continue to experience health problems.
"There's some lingering coughs, lingering sniffles, that kind of stuff," Hutchinson said.
The shelter is awaiting critical test results from Newman Restoration Company that will determine what it takes to clean the contaminated building.
The methamphetamine smoke poses a challenge, as the substance can permeate through porous materials such as drywall, insulation, wood, sheetrock, and textiles. Some walls may need to be removed and rebuilt, and any animal food in bags, towels, worn clothing, or employee belongings must be discarded.
“The smoke or the substance can permeate into absorbent building materials, and so when that happens over time, it's continuously off-gassing, and it's recontaminating the atmosphere," said Andrew Newman, owner and CEO of the company. “I think what we're going to find is where the source originated, those building materials are going to be impacted probably to the point where a lot of that stuff's going to have to be removed and rebuilt."
"Test results could come in either today or tomorrow," Hutchinson said. "Even at the best case scenario, we're not getting back in the building for two weeks up to a month."
With the shelter out of commission, veterinary clinics are bracing for an influx of stray animals that would normally go directly to YVAS.
"In the past, a couple of the emergency clinics in town would take stray animals," said Tiffany Smith, co-owner of Trailhead Veterinary Services.
Smith explained that it's common for people to drop stray animals off at veterinary clinics in Billings, where they can be held until animal control takes them to the shelter.
"Now that there's no operational shelter, what's happening to those animals?" Smith said.
Smith fears that veterinary clinics will become overwhelmed trying to house displaced animals while maintaining their regular patient care.
"At least to my knowledge, no clinic in town has the capacity to hold 75 to 100 animals at once on top of seeing patients," Smith said.
The incident has also raised questions about how the city's animal incinerator was being used. An air quality permit granted to the Billings Animal Board in 2010 specifically states that "The Billings Animal Control shall not incinerate/cremate any material other than animal remains and/or any corresponding container unless otherwise approved by the Department."
Hutchinson said he and others were unaware the city was using the facility to burn dangerous narcotics.
"I see it as they were instructed to use it in a certain way and they've used it in a way they make news now," Hutchinson said.
The contamination incident has renewed focus on YVAS plans to build a new facility in Wilson Park. The city's zoning commission has already approved the shelter, but more funding still needs to be raised.
"Having a new shelter would be instrumental in making sure this doesn't happen again," Hutchinson said.
"We've just been trying to help the shelter as much as we best can," Smith said.
