As many as 24 staff members and inmates at an Ohio correctional facility have been taken to the hospital after they were exposed to an unknown substance, according to the state highway patrol.
Officers responded to Ross Correctional Institution at 9 am on Wednesday after receiving reports of possible substance exposure in a cell block. The exposed guards and inmates were transferred to Adena Regional Medical Centre for treatment, the highway patrol said in a statement.
All patients were responsive at the time, and there were no reported fatalities as of Wednesday afternoon.
The highway patrol said several of the victims were administered Narcan – a drug frequently used to combat opioid overdoses. Troopers told a local NBC affiliate that the substance may have been fentanyl, but an official identification has not been made. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.
Chris Mabe, president of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, told the Chillicothe Gazette there had been reports of people “getting deathly sick” and even passing out as a result of the exposure. He indicated that officers and medics responding to the scene could have been exposed to the substance as well.
“The way fentanyl is transmitted sometimes through touch, sometimes through airborne," he said. "So that’s what we’re trying to find out now – how much substance we’re dealing with and how it was transmitted inside the institution."
But Jeff Graham, the CEO of Adena Regional Medical Centre, said most of the patients complained primarily of nausea. The majority had been treated and released, he said at a news conference. Only one had been admitted for treatment.
Officials observed strict decontamination protocols at the hospital, local outlets reported, even redirecting ambulance traffic to avoid exposing other people. All patients not related to the incident were reportedly transferred to another area of the hospital.
The contaminated cell block at the prison was cleared, and a hazardous material team was deployed to help with cleanup. The highway patrol said there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Still, the Unioto schools – located less than a mile from the facility – were placed on precautionary lock down Wednesday morning. Officials at the nearby Adena Local School District told NBC4 they were operating normally, but monitoring the situation. Several students have parents who work at the facility, they added.
Ross Correctional Institution is a medium-security men's prison in Chillicothe, Ohio. It houses approximately 2,000 inmates and employs nearly 500 staff members, according to local reports.
