Mines combat COVID-19; trona firms launch health campaign to combat virus spread

CASPER – Leaders of Wyoming’s largest trona mines have banded together to launch a public health campaign for Sweetwater County to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and keep businesses open.

Wyoming’s trona patch in the southwest part of the state employs upward of 2,300 workers across four mines. But the rapid spread of the virus throughout the county has complicated some operations.

Back in early April, several mineral operators took steps to prevent the virus from entering the plants and mines. They required strict social distancing, smaller crew sizes and staggered shifts. 

But those measures only went so far. The highly infectious disease escalated throughout the broader community. 

By early November, soda ash producer Ciner Wyoming said the virus had started straining the workforce and interrupting operations. Craig Rood, director of public relations and government affairs at Ciner, said droves of workers had to quarantine for possible exposure to the virus. Some tested positive.

The employer was especially worried for the safety of its vulnerable workers. Ciner wasn’t alone.

David Caplan, director of communications at another Green River trona facility called Genesis Alkali, described a similar situation.

Not only were the operators concerned about workers’ well-being, they also couldn’t afford to shut down or delay production without sustaining huge economic losses.

Operators asserted again and again that the virus wasn’t spreading inside the trona mines or plants. Most positive cases among employees have been traced to events or gatherings outside the workplace, they said.

“We did a lot of education work and communication, helping workers try to make good choices when they were not at work,” Rood said. “But as time went, on we realized we needed more participation from the community to get those messages out and reinforce safe behaviors in the community as well.” 

“Things were happening outside our control,” Caplan added.

This fall, Ciner Wyoming, Genesis Alkali and other large employers in Sweetwater County decided to collaborate and find possible solutions. 

To keep the mines open and workers safe, they decided to spearhead a county-wide marketing campaign called Sweetwater Cares before Christmas Day. Using billboards, merchandise, lawn signs, social media and advertisements, the campaign will encourage community members to stay safe in the name of both their health and the economy. 

The team will soon launch a website entirely devoted to COVID-19 resources for Sweetwater residents. The companies garnered support from additional stakeholders to make the six-month long campaign possible; the mayors of Rock Springs and Green River, the county health department, the community college and others joined in. 

But the initiative will likely stand out from other public health messaging seen throughout the pandemic.

The key to this campaign, Ciner’s Rood explained, will be to keep the message fun. He called it “a softer approach.” 

“It’s challenging to come up with messaging — whether it is wearing masks or getting vaccinated down the road — that doesn’t sound like we’re preaching to people,” admitted Caplan, of Genesis Alkali. “Because we do have a part of the population that is obviously resistant to these kinds of things.” 

The industry leaders think skeptical residents will rally around the public health guidelines and make safe choices if they see doing so will help keep large employers open or the economy humming along. 

“Look, we need to keep our workplaces open — whether it’s a trona mine or a mom and pop shop downtown — we need to keep these businesses open to keep Wyoming going,” Rood said. 

Both are hopeful the campaign’s fresh, whimsical and bold approach will have some influence. 

“I think we came up with something creative,” Caplan said with a smile. 

There’s a sense of urgency weighing on mineral operators in southwest Wyoming. In Sweetwater County virus cases were surging at the highest rate in the state as of Thursday. 

The county had confirmed the most new cases per capita over the past 10 days, according to Department of Health data, and over 17% of its positive cases occurred in the past 10 days — also the highest proportion of any Wyoming county. 

“Right now, unfortunately, our numbers are not coming down,” said Jean Stachon, Sweetwater’s county health official. “We’ve identified that we have some problems in our county, that hopefully we’ll get around. But it’s not for any lack of people being committed to the effort.” 

Stachon called the public health campaign launched by the trona industry notable and needed. 

“People may get tired of listening to the health department and tune us out,” she said, “but the big employers have some clout and weight we don’t.” 

The plant managers, she added, could be key to making sure Wyomingites trust what health officials have been saying for months.