Asbestos Scare Raises Concerns at Oregon Prison

A ceiling panel in a mechanical room at the Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem moved prison officials to cancel visiting hours and investigate potential asbestos contamination. The panel, measuring two feet wide and three feet long, became displaced and fell to the floor, along with a mass of ceiling insulation that contained loose asbestos fibers. Exposure to loose asbestos is known to be a leading cause of mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer that affects the fluid lining of the lungs.

Prison spokeswoman Wendy Hatfield said that officials were unsure as to the extent of any potential asbestos exposure. The prison's ventilation system connects airflows between the mechanical room, the prisoner visiting room, a storage area and an administrative office area. As a precaution, prison administrators decided to cancel visiting hours until environmental investigators concluded a full probe of the site's air quality.

According to Ms. Hatfield's report, the area of the ventilation system affected by the shutdown carried heat from the boiler room to the nearby visiting room and two offices, prompting the shutdown. Since the portion of the ventilation system under investigation did not affect areas frequented by inmates, they did not disrupt normal prison operations, but that they would take measures to preclude prisoners, guards and other staffers from becoming exposed. The prison has a capacity for almost nine hundred inmates, along with several hundred guards, office staff and maintenance crews.

When a maintenance worker at the prison noticed the collapsed ceiling insulation, he reported it immediately. The possibility of contamination was raised when work crews checked earlier reports that detailed that the room had previously tested positive for asbestos. Ms. Hatfield noted the quick response of the workers, since they were aware of the room's history, which led to officials enacting isolation procedures on other rooms that could have been affected by potential contamination.

Ms. Hatfield also said that the room in question had already undergone a full analysis for asbestos contamination and that prison administrators were preparing the area for a "full asbestos abatement" procedure to remove the remaining insulation. Since the room had not been opened for several weeks, according to Ms. Hatfield, the workers had no way of knowing how long the insulation had been loose or the extent of any potential contamination.

Prison officials have already announced that they have contracted a state-licensed asbestos remediation firm to carry out air quality testing in the affected areas and, if needed, also to conduct full containment, remediation and abatement projects. The spokesperson also stressed that they would not open the visiting areas until they had determined that visitors would risk exposure to the dangerous substance.

UPDATE: Recent air quality tests conducted at the prison show that the fallen ceiling insulation did not contaminate the visiting area. Administrators reopened the visitors' room, but have not turned on the heating system that connects it to the mechanical room under investigation. In one of the two offices where investigators carried out their tests, they noticed a "slightly elevated" level of asbestos. Although the prison has announced that the mechanical room will undergo asbestos abatement, they have yet to announce a timetable for the procedure.

Sources: Albany Herald, Willamette Valley Statesman Journal

News

Resources

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here

If you would like to receive a FREE information packet or have questions about mesothelioma, call us at:

Toll-Free 1-877-367-6376