Indiana State Police are investigating after four mail room workers at Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill were exposed to an unknown substance.
The Indiana Department of Correction says the substance was on a piece of incoming mail. The staff members were assessed and treated before they were transported to Duke Memorial Hospital in Peru for evaluation. The IDOC says they are all in stable condition.
"At this point in time we're going through a decontamination process so we can make sure there is no residual elements at the facility," says Chief Communications Officer Ike Randolph.
Randolph says no offenders were exposed to the substance. He wouldn't provide more information about the effect on the workers.
The staff at the prison regularly inspects mail for prohibited or illegal substances.
"It's an ongoing battle that we have constantly and it's being fought at this level to keep drugs out of our prison, keep contraband and cell phones out of our prison, and to allow legitimate mail to come through," Randolph says.
A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction last month in a case that challenges mail restrictions in place at Indiana prisons. The IDOC is appealing the injunction.
