Remember the prison where 33 current and previous inmates were concerned that they had been living and working with asbestos and are claiming damages for that exposure? Well, the assertion made by a prison official that the dormitories were cleared of asbestos two years ago was untrue.

A survey of the prison undertaken in May last year showed that pipe insulation, caulking and tile floors in inmate living areas contained asbestos. Small areas of the infirmary and receiving building were also found to contain asbestos, some of it crumbling. These areas were considered to be a "severe hazard."

Even more worrying, perhaps, was the memo of complaint from a pharmacist about the powdered residue that emanated from the tiled floor. He feared that the powder might be contaminating drugs and that it might be asbestos.

Prison spokeswoman JoEllen Lyons said officials have worked to remove hazardous asbestos and to safely encapsulate whatever remains at the Chillicothe prison.

Removal efforts, such as a major program in which specially trained inmates removed asbestos from pipes in tunnels beneath the Chillicothe prison, have not been without problems, and a prison memo states that barriers intended to prevent the spread of airborne asbestos had somehow been breached.

In 2006, a prison official commented, "We have placed our staff and inmates in a situation of possible exposure and may be violating environmental regulations."

JoEllen Lyons is reported to have said that none of the 2,850 inmates or 587 employees is thought to have been harmed by asbestos at Chillicothe or any other prison.

Columbus Dispatch