Cancer Concerns Halt Prison Computer Recycling Programs
A federal prison in the United States has suspended prisoner work programs after an ongoing Department of Justice investigation revealed hundreds of prisoners, government employees, visitors and family members may have been regularly exposed to dust particles containing carcinogens and other environmental hazards released during recycling projects.
Preliminary findings from a two-year investigation by the Office of the Inspector General indicate hundreds of inmates and staff members who participated in electronics recycling programs may have been exposed to toxic dust particles while they were dismantling computers in a UNICOR warehouse.
According to the report, protective gear was not worn and workers routinely wore their work clothes back to their residences so other prisoners, prison employees, spouses and children who didn’t participate in the dismantling of computers may also have been unknowingly exposed to hazardous materials.
UNICOR is a US government-owned corporation operated by the Federal Prison Industries, Inc. The company employed more than 23,000 inmates last year as part of job rehabilitation programs – about 1,200 of those were employed in recycling programs nationwide.
Occupational health experts warn recycling used electronics can cause health problems if not done properly. Specifically, tearing apart computers or televisions by hand without taking the necessary safety precautions can expose the body to arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury particles that promote cancer and other diseases.
After the Inspector General found recycling facilities at Elkton Federal Correctional Institution in Ohio had 50 times more lead particles in the air than deemed safe by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, Elkton’s recycling facilities voluntarily shut down on June 27, 2008. The IG plans to conduct further inspections of similar operations around the US.
While the final results of the DOJ investigation are still pending, dozens of inmates, staff members, family members and visitors to the UNICOR recycling operation in Marianna have already filed suit in Florida courts seeking damages for cancers, heart and lung conditions, miscarriages, skin lesions and other medical problems associated with heavy metal exposures. Union members at a Texarkana, Texas, prison are considering a similar court action.
If you’d like to learn more about environmental carcinogens, you can visit the American Cancer Society web site at www.cancer.org. If you’d like to learn the symptoms of heavy metal poisoning, there’s some useful information at dermnetnz.org.
Source: ABC News
Related Links: PC Magazine; BBC
Technorati Tags: oncology; cancer clusters; e-waste; green initiatives; health disparities; public health; reproductive health; rural health; toxicology
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