A Helena man is suing Boeing for more than $75,000, saying that his health is compromised due to occupational exposure of unvented chemicals at its building on Airport Road.  In documents filed in U.S. District Court, Jeffrey Reed said he is a machinist, specializing in the manufacture of parts for the aeronautics industry, and began working at Summit Aeronautics Group in April 2007. Summit, which is located by the Helena Regional Airport, was purchased in December 2010 by Boeing.

James Hunt, who is representing Reed, writes in court documents that in August 2011, his client began working on a project to manufacture parts for an airplane landing gear.  “This required him to machine deep pockets in titanium forms,” Hunt wrote in the lawsuit. “The pockets would fill with metal working fluid and metal chips and compressed air was required to blow out the material that accumulated in the pockets.”  That compressed air “aerosolized” the metalworking fluid into the area where Reed worked, according to Hunt. He added that the machinists’ work areas at the facility didn’t include “smog hogs” ventilators or other apparatus to keep the air around the work areas clean. The company also allegedly didn’t supply masks, respirators or other personal protective or safety equipment, other than safety glasses or goggles.
 
Reed also alleges that the metalworking fluid wasn’t changed regularly and that by the summer or fall of 2011, the fluid had grown murky and smelled like sewer gas.