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January 5, 2009 at 10:00:14

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Inmates Forced to Drink Poison Water - No Place to Go for Help

by Dr. B. Cayenne Bird Page 1 of 3 page(s)

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discolored prison water

Photo Note the obviously discolored water, even in this small quantity

I would like to share with you a letter sent to me by Daniel Zuma, a member of our UNION prison reform group with a graduate degree who gives us a first person, professionally qualified description of water at Duel Vocational Institute, a prison at Tracy, California and conditions he personally witnessed after he was terrorized by law enforcement. He was harshly sentenced to three years on a first arrest for possesion of recreational drugs. A senior citizen who was harming no one, a well-educated, gentle person who worked for years helping people in state service, thrown into prison. Whom did this benefit? No wonder we have no state budget and so many people are walking around traumatized for life after a ridiculous prison sentence.

Here is Daniel's shocking account. He is now out of prison, but he told me that he will never get over how his own life was devastated by what he endured and witnessed there. It is a key to why nobody is getting out of prison as a better person, but are instead broken in mind, body and spirit. Here's the letter from a very courageous man whose government has destroyed him over a victimless "crime". After his letter, I discuss other instances of poison water in the state's prisons and call everyone to rally with us outside the San Francisco, California federal courthouse on February 4, 2009

Begin Letter from Daniel Zuma

Dear Rev. Bird:

Nobody ever expects to go to prison, least of all someone who has never been in trouble before, and who has retired from a career in civil service. But, a friend of mine got caught for possession of drugs and they offered him his freedom in exchange for mine. The government broke down my front door, destroyed my faith in humanity, ruined me financially, and sentenced me to 3 years in prison for drug possession.

Prison did nothing about my drug use except to traumatize me to an extent that I would only be more likely to use them in the future (drug use is one of the defining criteria of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Prison also ruined my physical health, leaving me bitter and in chronic physical pain. To my surprise, the vast majority of the people I met in prison were there for non-violent offenses--mostly for drug possession, or for technical violations of their conditions of parole--things like "failure to follow directions," failing to keep an appointment, or turning in a dirty drug or alcohol test; i.e., things that are not even crimes. Many were over 50 years old, like myself.

I was at Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy CA, where the water runs gray and sometimes brown from the tap. It tastes of industrial chemicals and fermented cow urine, since a dairy sits atop the shallow aquifer from which the prison draws 620,000 gallons per day. It´s disgusting even in the best of times; the staff won´t drink it; there are signs warning visitors not to drink it; and trying to wash anything white only makes them dirtier. In mid-May of 2006, Plant Ops did some routine maintenance changing over the pipes bringing water into the prison. They turned the water off to the entire prison for about 18 hours, and when they turned it back on, the water ran black and thick as paint for nearly a day, after which it gradually went back to its usual gray. The staff brought trash cans full of potable water into the large dorms, and gave the prisoners buckets to help flush the toilets.

The roughly 3,900 prisoners confined two to a cell were completely without water; 379 prisoners and eight staff members were seriously sickened by some sort of diarrheal disease, variously identified as the Norovirus, Campylobacter and, according to one Doctor I spoke to, "a mixture of fecal bacteria" that were never conclusively identified. DVI is a reception center--a feeder prison--which sends about 750 inmates per week to Mule Creek, Wasco, Folsom and elsewhere in the Central Valley. It is, therefore, the first stop for any epidemic entering the prison system. Between May 16 and May 23, 2006, 1,344 inmates and 14 correctional staffers at 10 prisons came down with the disease.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, DVI was used as a firefighter training facility. Chemicals would be ignited in an open pit and extinguished by firefighting personnel. Consequently, there are now high concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds, such as PCE, TCE, and DCE in the groundwater. The prison dairy contributes significant amounts of nitrates and fecal bacteria, which leach into the water table only 12 feet below. Instead of filtration, the prison relies on high levels of chlorination to suppress fecal contamination, so there are high levels of chlorides (i.e., the "C" in PCE, TCE and DCE) in the water.

In addition to manganese and iron, the water at DVI has a very high salt content due to it´s proximity to San Francisco Bay. So, the water is very "filling," but it doesn't quench your thirst. During intestinal disease outbreaks and in hot weather, it is very difficult to stay hydrated or to flush the accumulated toxins from your body. (This is a particular danger for the elderly, or the many inmates who are on psychotropic medications due to mental health problems.)

After three months of drinking the DVI water I developed a rash over 80% of my body, which was so itchy I would scratch myself bloody in my sleep. It also affected my joints and my vision, and only cleared up when I was able to obtain bottled water.

I went to Mainline Medical to try to get a prescription or a medical "Chrono" for bottled water, or else a transfer to another institution with clean water. I was told by Dr. Fox, the Chief of the Medical Staff, that they didn't have the power to grant either request, and besides, I couldn't prove medically that it was the water (even though my rash would come back when I started drinking the water again). I was advised to file a Medical 602 , an Inmate Appeal which, in keeping with the normal standard of incompetence in these matters, was routed to the prison´s Chief Engineer as a "quality of life" issue, who denied it on the grounds that there was nothing he could do about the water.

Unlike many inmates I was fortunate enough to have family who could send me my own money from the outside, and I was able to purchase 2-liter bottles for 90 cents each once a month at the prison canteen. But then CDC suddenly canceled these from the canteen inventory in favor of 20 oz bottles at triple the price. I filed an Appeal on the price increase, citing my own health reasons and the fact that clean water is a necessity of life and health. After nearly a year of working my way through the various levels of appeal, it was finally turned down at the highest level by CDC in Sacramento.

They said that the decision to raise the price on water was made at the state level by a committee and, having been made, it cannot be unmade just for me. Apparently, allowing all prisoners access to clean water--even at their own expense--was not deemed sufficiently reasonable to revisit the committee´s decision. I know from my own years of experience in state government that there is no impediment to modifying a contract of this sort. They simply did not consider the health of inmates worth the effort.

In the meantime, I began documenting cases of others who had filed grievances at DVI and found a consistent pattern of obstruction and delay--and, when appeals were granted, the outcomes were deliberately calculated to make the situation worse, so as to convince the inmates of the futility of trying to change the system by working within it. All of the organizational self-correcting mechanisms have been disconnected in CDC--there is no meaningful press access; no outside audits; no inmate self-governance; no checks and balances; no whistle blower protection; chaplains can be fired for disclosing substandard conditions; and a recent federal case brought by an inmate at Pelican Bay regarding the serving of hot meals has shown that even the federal courts cannot force CDC to follow its own rules--should a prisoner survive the year-long gauntlet of delay and reprisals that pervades the Inmate Appeals Process.

What I didn´t know at the time is that polluted drinking water had been known about for decades at DVI and elsewhere, but it has been largely ignored as overcrowded prisons overtax the aquifers from which they draw their water. Nitrate contamination due to fertilizers is especially common in rural areas, such as the Salinas Valley State Prison near Monterey; the California Institution for Men (CIM) in Chino; at the California Men´s Colony (CMC) in San Luis Obispo; and the nearby California Institution for Women (CIW). Mule Creek State Prison´s water is contaminated with dry cleaning chemicals; Old Folsom´s water is contaminated by toxic waste from the old scrap metal, drum storage, industrial manufacturing areas, and a firing range. At Kern Valley State Prison, there are high levels of arsenic in the water. Alkalinity, asbestos and fecal contamination are issues at Avenal. Inmates have also been sickened by the water at the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown, and by outbreaks of Helicobacter pylori (a bacterium that causes peptic ulcers) at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco.

If there is any pollution in the local water table, it tends to get sucked into the prison because of the rates of pumping have to keep up with overcrowding. To make matters worse, prisons only concentrate these pollutants further, and they discharge them back into the host communities, who are forced to subsidize the cost of treating the excess sewage. Between 2000 and 2006, eight of California's 33 state prisons have been cited for major water pollution problems. Folsom State Prison, for example, was fined $700,000 in 2000 for a massive 700,000 gallon sewage spill into the adjacent American River.

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http://www.1union1.com

Dr. B. Cayenne Bird is a 37-year veteran op-ed journalist and publisher. She volunteers her time as founder and director of United for No Injustice, Oppression or Neglect UNION since 1998. The UNION is active in prison reform and criminal justice (more...)

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7 comments

Aurora

A wake-up call

I hope more people get to read this. It deserves wider coverage.

by Aurora (0 articles, 95 quicklinks, 52 diaries, 648 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Monday, Jan 5, 2009 at 9:00:44 PM

(0+)

Emily Levy

Question

Thank you so much for all this information. You suggest printing the article and sending it to prisoners. I'm wondering if you think it'll really get through the censors and get in. I will try sending to my family member who's currently in CTF Soledad. This is adjacent to SVSP, which you mention in the article. I imagine the water source is the same for all of the Soledad facilities. Do you happen to know?

Thank you again for bringing this important issue more public attention.

by Emily Levy (7 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 16 comments) on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 12:51:21 AM

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Dr. B. Cayenne Bird

Answer to Emily from Dr. Bird

It is against the law for the prison mail room to block the mail, we've been sending in organizing material for ten years, since most UNION families print off and mail the entire daily newsletter. Of course, when did correctional employees ever always obey the law, they certainly don't, but 95% of the time, we get the info through. It is best to send things via two day priority mail with delivery confirmation which costs another $1.80 and you can get two pounds into it for less than $5, depending on where you live. Don't forget to send your loved one about 50 flyers for the Feb 4 rally in San Francisco as well.

www.1union1.com/Feb4_rally_flyer_plata.html

this is what our research turned up

There is documented nitrate pollution in the well water at SVSP. This is from applied fertilizer, so there are undoubtedly insecticides and herbicides as well. We can assume that the water is polluted at both prisons.

http://www.nonewprisons.org/archive/PrisonWater.html

In addition, there is the following logic:

All the prisons that have water documented problems seem to get their water from wells which pull water from the local groundwater. The shallower the aquifer is, the more susceptible the well water is to pollution, since there is less earth to filter it out. The greater the over-crowding, the greater the over-pumping, and the greater the pollution.

If there are any crop lands, garbage dumps, or industrial sites sitting on top of the aquifer, the water is going to have pesticides, fertilizer and industrial pollution leaching into it. Just about every prison has a firing range on the property (in fact, one of the great job perks of being a guard is that the State pays for as much ammunition as they can shoot off). So, at a minimum, pretty much every prison that has on-site firing range has a toxic dump site loaded with finely pulverized lead and lead dust.

http://www.ewg.org/reports/poisonouspastime

http://www.princeton.edu/~rmizzo/firingrange.htm#mobility

Whatever is there gets sucked into the prison water system sooner or later, and it only becomes concentrated in the prisoners who respire and perspire and if they can not flush it out with pure water. If there isn't naturally occuring arsenic, there is naturally occuring selenium all throughout the central valley.

Even iron can be poisonous if you get enough of it. Sodium is found in abundance in the groundwater, especially in the low-lying Central Valley areas. It readily combines with chlorine to form ordinary salt, which has a parching effect on the body. Overuse of chlorine to make the water drinkable tends to load it up with percholorates and other Volatile Organic Compounds.

Total dissolved solids, unfortunately, are considered more of a nuisance than a health risk.

hclick here

Twenty of the 33 state prisons offer vocational dry cleaning programs (in order to provide fodder for this high toxic-exposure industry). There was a big hoopla in June of 2001 when Soledad switched over to more environmentally sound wet cleaning. So, there was very likely dry cleaning before that, as evidenced by the title of the guy teaching the stuff.

\click here

In the case of Salinas Valley State Prison and the Correctional Training Facility (which are adjacent to one another), there is a toxic landfill roughly 7 miles away as the crow flies. That may seem like it is too far away to affect the water, but the site is located at the bottom of a valley which funnels rain runoff in the direction of the prisons.

The watershed delivers the runoff to within a couple of miles from the prison. And, between the town of Gonzalez, the three prisons in the area, and the city of Soledad all furiously pumping their wells, they have literally been pulling the pollution toward the prison, and have been for some decades. See map below

click here

There are already documented perchlorates in the area water, and concerns about a munitions plant that operated for 20 years

click here

by Dr. B. Cayenne Bird (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 13 comments [6 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 10:09:29 PM

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Emily Levy

Reply: Thank you, Dr. Bird

for that detailed reply. I will do my best to get this info as well as the original article and the flyer for Feb 4 into CTF Soledad. I've also forwarded it to many people. I originally found your article not here at OEN, but linked at DemocraticUnderground.com, where it has gotten significant notice.

Thank you for your work.

by Emily Levy (7 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 16 comments) on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 11:29:35 PM

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Alexis Endurance

Excellent Informative Article,the truth is exposed big time

California prisons R much worst than we could imagine.Water is necessary to live,toxic water is deadly!The state knew about this,what kind of people R these,who run R prisons? They R the criminals~~who will hold the State Corrections Dept.accountable for their decades of crimes against humanity causing all these needless deaths?It took good people 2 believe the families of inmates~The journalist's who listened 2 them~~No one believed the prisoners,until the friends & families,came out publicly full force,~~Inmates who file complaints,R abused & tortured 2 no end~~The State of California has neglected the cries of inmates 4 decades!Releasing the non-violent prisoners,& reforming the revolving doors of parole,needs 2 happen now~~why stop there~also release of the terminally ill sick,comatose & dying inmates~Prison overcrowding has caused many unnecessary deaths~~any sentence to prison is a probable death sentence

by Alexis Endurance (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 5:30:41 PM

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Alexis Endurance

Salinas Valley,July,2004~'they knew water was contaminated~

Prison spokesman Lt. Eloy Medina said toilets are being flushed every three hours, and that water rations started at 32 ounces a day and had been raised to 64 ounces a day on the advice of prison doctors.

Medina said prison officials were hoping to restore water for showers and toilets sometime today. Inmates have been allowed just one three-minute shower since last Thursday.

One health care worker at the prison, who asked not to be named, said the conditions were miserable and tensions were running high. The discomfort is exacerbated by Soledad's hot summer weather, with temperatures inside the cell blocks hitting 80 degrees on an average day.

The close quarters, with two inmates residing in cells approximately 12 by 6 feet, make the lack of showers more oppressive.

Still, Medina insisted, "morale is pretty good. Everyone understands the situation and that we're doing what we can."

Salinas Valley State Prison opened in 1996 with two wells. But nitrate pollution, a result of leaking septic systems and decades worth of agricultural fertilizers leaching into groundwater, forced prison officials to cap one well in 1999, Medina said.

The second well is tested weekly and nitrate levels of 50 parts per million were detected last Thursday -- 5 parts per million more than what is considered safe.

The well was immediately shut down, and the prison started diverting water from a neighboring low- and medium-security prison.

But there wasn't enough to replace the 700,000 gallons a day that Salinas Valley State Prison uses, and draconian reductions were implemented immediately.

Outdoor exercise has been canceled, with inmates limited to their cells and day rooms to prevent unnecessary sweating, dehydration and sanitation risks, Medina said.

State health officials have agreed to let prison officials use the contaminated water for showers and toilets. In the long term, prison officials hope to have a filtration system installed before the year's end.

What kind of State Health Officials are these,anyway,they should be building mental institutions,just for them~~And the day rooms now are filled with inmates~~No wonder so many died of so-called natural causes~~those on hot meds are the first to die~~

by Alexis Endurance (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Wednesday, Jan 7, 2009 at 8:03:05 PM

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Nora Weber

H-Pylori bacteria is very common in California prisons

My son spent 24 days in 2008 in a hospital, which the State of California had to pay for because of the lack of sanitation in the California prisons.

His H-Pylori bacteria infection was so serious that he almost died. Can you imagine that prisoners in California are not allowed to purchase a dish washing soap even in the prison canteen. They are allowed to own one plastic drinking glass and one small plastic bowl. There is nothing to clean them with but toilet paper and cold water, and their lucky if they have the toilet paper.

The prison saying is "you ain't got nottin comin". How would you like to be that prisoner that has to drink and eat out of the same dirty plastic day after day? My son says the water taste terrible.

I hope the Federal Judges will stop this overcrowding problem and force the prisons to release these very sick prisoners.

by Nora Weber (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 4 comments [5 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Jan 8, 2009 at 10:34:35 AM

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