Due to lack of funding Planet Iran is unable to continue publishing at this point in time

Posts | Comments | /

Disease Outbreak Feared as Water Contamination Continues at Rajai-Shahr Prison

Posted by Zand-Bon on Apr 10th, 2010 and filed under Human Rights, Photos, Sections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Bookmark This!
Close Bookmark and Share This Page
  Link HTML: 
 Permalink: 
 If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed or .

Source:

April 9, 2010

Since April 7, the contamination of the drinking water at Rajai-Shahr prison has reached an alarming level. The water, which was shut off for several consecutive hours, has a foul odor, leading to fears over a possible disease outbreak inside the prison.

According to HRDAI, on Wednesday, April 7, the water was shut off at Rajai-Shahr for several hours. After it was restored, the drinking water was highly polluted and smelled like sewage. The inmates have no choice but to drink the contaminated water.

A number of prisoners are reportedly suffering from diarrhea, vomiting, headaches and fatigue, which are symptoms caused by the contaminated water.

Rajai-Shahr’s water is untreated and is supplied from an underground well located below prison level. The prison is not connected to the city’s water system. The raw sewage leakage into the prison’s water system, which started a few weeks ago, still continues, causing frequent water shut-offs. As a result, inmates have been forced to shower in cold water, which has resulted in a spread of skin diseases.

No measures have been taken to address the water contamination problem, which started several weeks ago and has affected the prison in its entirety.

The high concentration of inmates, which is several times the prison’s normal capacity, has added to the possibility of an outbreak.

Additionally, prisoners are not able to buy bottled water and other beverages from the prison store, as they were taken off the shelves when the contamination started.

The majority of the washroom facilities at Ward 6 have been practically non-functional for a long time. Ward 6 is composed of several rooms that are located in a multi-storey building. Inmates who use washroom facilities on lower floors have to cover their heads with plastic bags to avoid getting drenched by sewage water dripping from higher floors. Hygienic conditions are very poor, and a number of washrooms are currently unusable, leaving 600 prisoners with 3 or 4 semi-functional washroom facilities.

Leave a Reply

Log in | Copyright© 2009 All rights reserved.