Mendota correctional officers hospitalized after exposure to contaminated mail, officials say

MENDOTA, Calif. (KFSN) — An alarming medical situation at Federal Correctional Institution Mendota on Monday evening.

Two correctional officers who were distributing mail to inmates came in contact with a substance that made them feel sick.

“One of the correctional officers immediately became dizzy, lightheaded, nauseous and as he turned to his coworker who was handling the same piece of mail he was, he also said the same thing,” said Aaron McGothin, president of American Federal Government Employees local union.

Both were taken to the hospital in Fresno and have been released.

The Bureau of Prisons confirms the matter is still under investigation, but claims preliminary tests show “no toxic substances were present.”

The union says it was an illicit substance, part of an ongoing and rampant drug problem in US prisons.

“We come to work to do a job but these incoming, these drugs that come into our jail through mail are putting us at risk,” said McGothin.

He says similar incidents have happened in Southern California and in Illinois, where 17 officers went to the hospital after an exposure.

Last summer, Marc Fisher died after handling inmate mail believed to be laced with fentanyl at US Penitentiary Atwater.

RELATED: 3 facing drug charges following death of Atwater prison employee

There’s now a bill in the House of Representatives bearing his name.

“These bills that are going through congress right now that are bipartisan will provide appropriations to have this inmate mail across the country screened offsite and then photocopied and sent in,” said McGothin.

The Bureau of Prisons sent Action News a statement saying, in part: “The BOP is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all inmates, employees, and the public, and continually evaluates and deploys as appropriate, contraband-detecting technologies.”

The investigation is ongoing.

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