By Bay City News
A hazardous materials team was dispatched to Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad after eight members of the custody staff were sickened Friday afternoon, California corrections officials said.
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The Monterey County Hazardous Materials Response Team, which was summoned, is specially trained to respond to chemical spills, toxic reactions and illicit synthetic opioid exposures, according to the county Health Department.
The cause of the illnesses wasn’t immediately disclosed.
The hazmat team was called at 4:41 p.m. when eight staff members “fell ill” in the Facility C visiting area, said Bryan Byrd, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The staff members were taken to an outside medical facility, treated and released, Byrd said. He didn’t disclose what they were treated for.
All visitors in the area were medically evaluated and released, he said.
Cal Fire’s San Benito-Monterey unit assisted Correctional Training Facility firefighters with the incident, the agency said.
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“The hazmat team conducted environmental testing with negative results for dangerous or hazardous substances,” Byrd said.
The area of the prison affected by the incident will be professionally cleaned, he said.
Byrd said the prison’s Investigative Services Unit is looking for the source of the illness.
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