By Liz Zemba
Tribune-Review
GREENSBURG, Pa. — Coal waste near a state prison in Fayette County is not adversely impacting inmates’ health, according to a review by the Department of Corrections.
The findings, released Wednesday afternoon, are contrary to results of a yearlong investigation by two human rights groups. A spokesman for one of the groups said the state’s study falls short because it does not address their concerns.
Sue McNaughton, spokeswoman for Corrections, did not return a phone call seeking comment beyond a news release and two-page report.
According to the report, the study was in response to allegations that coal waste near the State Correctional Institution at Fayette in Luzerne is causing a high incidence of medical problems among inmates.
The allegations are contained in a report released in September by the Pittsburgh-based Abolitionist Law Center and the Human Rights Coalition titled, “No Escape: Exposure to Toxic Coal Waste at State Correctional Institution Fayette.”
The 27-page report said the prison is built on a former coal refuse dump that contains 40 million tons of waste connected to the coal industry. The groups alleged that SCI Fayette’s inmates have high rates of illnesses consistent with exposure to toxic fly ash, including chronic sore throats, swollen throats, shortness of breath, headaches, dizziness, vision problems, stomach pain, sores and cysts, as well as skin, mouth, nose and throat tumors.
Brian Coleman, superintendent at SCI Fayette, was unavailable for comment Wednesday. Rhonda House, spokeswoman at SCI Fayette, deferred comment to McNaughton.
The Department of Corrections said in its report that the agency had the prison’s water supply independently tested in August and appointed a medical team to review inmate medical records and study rates of cancer and cancer-related deaths.
The water supply tested safe for drinking and was free of chemical contaminants that would cause health problems, according to the corrections department’s report. The internal review of inmate medical records and cancer rates showed “no significant difference in the number and types of health issues raised by residents at SCI Fayette when compared to other Pennsylvania prisons,” according to the two-page report.
“Our review found no scientific data to support claims of any unsafe environmental conditions or any related medical issues to exist at SCI Fayette,” said Corrections Secretary John Wetzel in a prepared statement.
Ben Fiorillo, spokesman for Human Rights Coalition, said the corrections department’s water testing and comparison of health issues at SCI Fayette to other state prisons fails to answer questions of air pollution raised in the “No Escape” report.
“What they looked at was how does SCI Fayette compare to other prisons, when our prisoners at SCI Fayette are being made sick by exposure to coal ash, specifically in the form of air pollution,” Fiorillo said. “We have a lot of anecdotal evidence from prisoners and guards that a black dust that may be coal ash collects on the vents inside, and they didn’t address that issue.”