Prison bureau says safety is a priority

The federal prison bureau said its recycling program is safe.

ELKTON — The federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that it won’t comment on safety at the prison here until a study is complete.

Bill Meek, the vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees, Council of Prison Locals 33, Local 607, said Thursday that a preliminary report issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General, has revealed that staff at the Federal Correctional Institution here have been exposed to dangerously toxic levels of cadmium and lead.

The union represents about 250 workers at the prison in Elkrun Township.

Meek said the multiagency investigation showed people were exposed at levels 450 times that are allowable by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Federal Prison Industries, which uses the trade name UNICOR, is a recycling program at the prison that includes taking apart old computers and other electronic devices.

Despite Meek’s statements, the bureau of prisons said its recycling operations “are safe programs.”

The bureau says the safety of inmates and staff is a top priority.

This review is being made by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Occupational Health Service.

The bureau has received the health service’s interim findings and recommendations. The inspector general’s review is still under way, however.

The prison industries will “fully address the issues and recommendations contained in the report,” according to the bureau of prison’s release.

The prison industries either are in the process of being certified, or have been certified, with all applicable health, safety, and environmental regulations, the release said. That includes the standards of the International Association of Electronics Recyclers.

The release from the bureau of prisons said that since 2002, its recycling programs have processed more than 224 million pounds of material that mostly would have gone to landfills.