DOC Agrees to Sweeping Changes at Elmore Recycling Facility

Settlement Ensures That Inmates Will No Longer Be Forced to Handle Used Syringes, other Hazardous Waste

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA - Alabama prison officials have agreed to sweeping changes at the Elmore Correctional Facility (Elmore) recycling facility as part of a settlement reached Tuesday in a federal class-action lawsuit, Kendrick Brinkley et al. vs. Earnest L. Harrelson, filed last month by the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights. The suit was filed on behalf of present and future inmates at Elmore, who were forced to labor under severely unsanitary and dangerous conditions in the prison recycling center, sorting through hazardous waste materials with their hands.

Under the terms of the settlement, inmates who work at the facility sorting though garbage for recyclables will be provided with puncture-resistant gloves, face masks, and eye goggles, as well as tools so that they are not forced to sort through the garbage with their hands. Inmates have been stuck and cut by used hypodermic needles and other sharp objects, and have had to literally dig through bloody bandages, bloody sanitary napkins, dirty diapers, and other garbage in search of the recyclables that the prison then sells to private companies.

Prison officials, who admitted as part of the settlement that hazardous materials have made their way into the Elmore facility, have agreed to screen all garbage for such material so that it does not reach the inmates. "Far less hazardous material will be coming through the facility as a result of this settlement," said Marion Chartoff, an attorney with the SCHR who is representing the inmates. "And the inmates will finally have appropriate gear to protect them if some dangerous material does inadvertently come down the line."

Elmore officials agreed to a host of changes in the 20-page settlement agreement, including improved health care for injured workers, increased safety training for inmates and correctional officers, and monitoring of the facility to ensure compliance with the settlement.

Copy of the Settlement Agreement

Press accounts of this lawsuit

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