Santa Fe inmates sickened by dust, fumes during lengthy renovation, lawsuit charges

3/16/2016 (Permalink)

A new lawsuit says hundreds of inmates at the Santa Fe County Jail on N.M.14 south of town were sickened and injured by dust and fumes from renovation

SANTA FE – A lawsuit requesting class action status filed Friday alleges that hundreds of inmates at the Santa Fe County Jail were exposed to massive amounts of dust and chemical fumes that “created an epidemic of severe ailments” in 2014 while showers and lavatory areas were renovated.

The state District Court suit claims inmates “experienced a variety of painful, serious symptoms, directly attributed to the conditions created by the renovation,” including difficulty or pain when breathing, tightness in the lungs, chronic nosebleeds, body rashes, hives, blurry vision, stomachaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and a high “similar to huffing paint.”

Symptoms persisted well after the work was completed, according to the suit. At least 300 inmates, and possibly as many as 500, were injured to varying degrees, the complaint says. At least three employees of the jail also suffered health issues.

The lawsuit filed by Rothstein, Donatelli, Hughes, Dahlstrom, Schoenburg & Bienvenu law firm asks for damages from Santa Fe County, the jail’s former warden and the company that did the work, Industrial Commercial Coatings LLC of Albuquerque.

A spokeswoman for Santa Fe County said it does not comment on pending or threatened litigation. Messages left for former warden Mark Gallegos, now jail administrator in Curry County, and with ICC were not returned Monday.

The suit says ICC was hired to apply a highly toxic chemical sealant containing isocyanate to approximately 28,880 square feet that included 51 showers and space for lavatories. It claims that the work was performed in a “hapless and reckless” fashion, bypassing safety protocols and exposing inmates to hazardous conditions “all day, every day, for months at a time.”

During a first project phase of grinding work, the lawsuit alleges, a fine dust comprised of cement, paint, metal and a polyurea sealant came into contact with inmates’ food and bedding.

Then, while sealant was applied during the second phase, inmates were exposed to toxic fumes circulated throughout the facility through heating and cooling vents.

“This left the inmates with no respite from the dangerous conditions created by the renovation,” according to the lawsuit. No attempt was made to protect inmates, the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint says dozens of inmates and at least three employees at the jail, one who now relies on an inhaler, sought medical attention and that jail staffers tried to talk people out of documenting their symptoms. It claims that when one employee who had to go on medical leave told Gallegos that the situation was “not good” and something needed to be done the warden his dismissed concerns, as well as those of other employees, including a staff doctor.

Representatives of the plaintiff class are Christopher Mavis, a member of an inmate crew that assisted with the renovation, and Joe Martinez, an inmate porter assigned to clean up common areas.

They were not provided with protective gear while many ICC employees were outfitted in “hazmat-type suits with hoods, full protective face masks, and respirators,” the lawsuit says.

Source: http://www.abqjournal.com/740454/news/lawsuit-santa-fe-inmates-made-sick-by-dust-fumes-during-lengthy-renovation.html