Inmates sue correctional facility for asbestos exposure

A lawsuit has been filed against Ohio's Chillicothe Correctional Institute by thirty-seven former and current inmates who say that they were forced to remove asbestos and were harmfully exposed to the substance while serving prison time at the facility. The State of Ohio is included in the suit as well as the CCI’s warden, Timothy Brunsman, and several other administrators who are being charged individually as responsible parties.

The lawsuit alleges that the prisoners were required to remove asbestos at the institution but were not given proper training or protection, and as a result these factors led to several inmates developing medical conditions directly related to asbestos exposure.

Gerald Smith, who was incarcerated at the facility for 18 months, worked as a plumber there. He claims that on more than one occasion, there were ruptures in the pipes which caused steam to blow asbestos around in the air. Smith currently suffers from chest pains and coughs up phlegm from time to time.

The inmates’ lawyers ordered their clients to test for asbestos, and lab results came back positive.

The suit also claims that the institution’s administrators punished the inmates when it was found out that they were complaining about the asbestos problem to people not associated with the facility. Besides Warden Brunsman, the other administrators included the warden’s administrative assistant, two deputy wardens, a deputy of administration, and a major at CCI. Each person is being charged with being responsible for neglecting to take action to prevent the inmates from being exposed although they were clearly aware, for years, of the safety risks to the prisoners.

The lawsuit was filed in Franklin County U.S. District Court on January 4, 2008

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