By C1 Staff
FAYETTE COUNTY, Pa. — 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.
The Post-Gazette reports that another six inmates have been diagnosed with cancer and another eight have undiagnosed tumors or lumps.
The report, conducted by the Abolitionist Law Center and the Human Rights Coalition, is based on a year-long review of prison medical and mortality records, interviews with prisoners, former inmates and residents of LaBelle, and correspondence from more than 40 inmates.
More than 80 percent of 75 prisoners responding to the investigators experienced respiratory problem, 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.
Susan McNaughton, a state Department of Corrections spokeswoman, said that once the report is released the department would review its findings and the issues and concerns it raises.
Another spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association declined to comment but expressed concern for the union’s members.
“We are aware of some officers from SCI Fayette who are suffering from illness,” he said. “We look forward to reviewing this report to see if there is any connection.”
The 2,000 bed, $125 million maximum security prison where all of the state’s vehicle license plates are made opened in 2003. It was built on part of the old strip mine site that has been used for coal combustion waste disposal for 60 years and has been owned since 1997 by Matt Canestrale Construction Inc.
The combustion waste at the 506-acre Canestrale site, which borders the prison on two sides, includes 40 million tons of coal mining waste rock, two coal slurry ponds and millions of cubic yards of fly ash from FirstEnergy Corp.’s Mitchell and Hatfield’s Ferry coal-burning power plants in Washington and Greene counties. The plants were closed by the company in October 2013.
Many of the prisoners surveyed for the report noted similar, visible signs of pollution that include “black clouds of debris blowing off the dump site; black dust collecting in the prison yard, on window sills and freshly fallen snow; and black and gray dust building up around the vents inside prison cells.”
Fly ash is a fine particle material with the consistency of talcum powder and containing sometimes high levels of carcinogenic heavy metals, including arsenic, lead and mercury. Peer-reviewed health studies have linked the fine particles to the four leading causes of death in the U.S. – heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease and stroke.