Support the Environmental Health
in Prisons Act
Contact your representative, senators and friends about an act that would help create a healthier living environment in federal prisons.
If passed, the Environmental Health in Prisons Act would require stricter monitoring of and reporting by federal prisons on pollutants and environmental hazards such as water quality, temperature, mold, pests, light levels and noise pollution. In additon, the act establishes oversight through an independent advisory panel, which would recommend policies to promote safer living and working conditions within prisons. Finally, it mandates that adults in custody be informed on the potential environmental hazards identified, their effects, and the precautions they can take to protect themselves.
The act was introduced by Sen. Edward Markey in the Senate and Rep. Ayanna Pressley in the House.
As an example of just how unhealthy federal prisons can be, read this post about conditions in just one institution. “There were numerous leaks and the air conditioning didn’t work,” our network member writes. “Warm air blew out of the vents and many of the guys kept them covered because of the black dust that blew out (I believe this was black mold spores). Many of us believed this was why so many of us had breathing problems and respiratory infections.”
What you can do
Below is suggested copy for an email that can be adapted and sent to your federal representative and senators.
I am reaching out to strongly urge you to co-sponsor the Environmental Health in Prisons Act, which would require the federal Bureau of Prisons to work to ensure safer living conditions for the men and women we confine behind bars.
One-third of federal prisons lie within three miles of federal “superfund” sites — toxic waste areas critically in need of extensive cleanup. Pollutants such as arsenic and lead are regularly found in prison water, and adults in custody often must live 24/7 in dangerously excessive heat. [Make your email a little different than others by describing the situation of an incarcerated loved one or friend, if you have one]
The bill would provide much-needed independent oversight for a prison system that has long deprioritized the environmental well-being of the people inside. The hazardous conditions in prisons can have deep and long-lasting physical and mental health consequences, which in turn adds to the burden of care imposed on the prison system, which is tasked with providing medical and mental health care.
Incarcerated individuals may have committed serious mistakes, but our country’s values demad that they be allowed to live in good health and humane conditions. For all these reasons, please sign on to support the Environmental Health in Prisons Act.
Thank you for your service and for considering my views.