Water Contamination At Jail May Be Poisoning Workers, Prisoners
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
A new report suggests that fly ash may be contaminating the water at a correctional facility in Pennsylvania and possibly causing illness.
"A preliminary report found that 11 prisoners died at the State Correctional Institute Fayette in LaBelle from cancer, believed to be caused by a nearby coal waste dump full of toxic fly ash," Corrections One reported.
The report is based on an investigation currently being conducted by two human rights groups. Along with the 11 prisoners who died during a three-year span, six were diagnosed with cancer, and eight have "undiagnosed tumors or lumps," the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reported.
"Also, more than 80 percent of 75 prisoners responding to the investigators experienced respiratory problems, 68 percent said they experienced gastrointestinal problems and half have skin rashes, cysts and abscesses. Twelve percent, nine of the 75, reported being diagnosed with a thyroid disorder at the prison or having their existing thyroid problems get worse. Many of the prisoners have multiple, overlapping symptoms, the report said," according to the Post-Gazette.
Formers employees of the facility have voiced their concerns.
Lee Ulery, who contracted kidney cancer, said, per the Herald Standard: “I don’t know it’s definitely the fly ash (causing health problems). There are two things in common there — the air you breath and the water you drink. There are always problems with the water there. I was really beating the drum about the water there. It said right on the reports it could cause kidney cancer."
Fly ash is "a product of burning finely ground coal in a boiler to produce electricity," according to the EPA.
Three of Ulery's former co-workers at the correctional facility have similar health problems, the report said. “I drank a lot of water at work. The jail would never tell us what the water reports said,” Ulery said, per the report.
Federal reports show there were problems with the drinking water.
"Annual drinking water reports and letters of notification to customers...from the Tri-County Municipal Authority from 2008 through 2013 indicate that the levels of total trihalomethanes (TTHM) exceeding the limits for drinking water standard. At times, the readings were as much as 100 percent higher than the standards allowed," the report said.
According to the EPA, "Some people who drink water containing total trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL over many years could experience liver, kidney, or central nervous system problems and increased risk of cancer."
Check out Water Online's Drinking Water Contaminant Removal Solution Center.
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