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Prison service faces sanctions over exposure of inmates and staff to deadly radioactive gas
HSE said HMPPS left prisoners and staff exposed to radon above legal limits for a prolonged period, and no individuals face action.
- On Wednesday, the Health and Safety Executive announced it intends to issue the prison service a Crown Censure, the maximum sanction against a government body, for exposing prisoners and staff at HMP Dartmoor in Devon to dangerous radon levels.
- Despite measurements from 2020 showing unacceptably high levels of the radioactive gas, the prison service only evacuated Dartmoor in late 2023, moving all inmates out by August 2024 due to lung cancer risks.
- Hundreds of former inmates and staff have joined a class action lawsuit against the MoJ, which is investigating 42 prison and probation sites for high radon levels, including at least 16 prisons.
- Prisons Minister James Timpson told MPs that the facility's future remains undecided, even as the government continues paying around 4m annually under a 100m 25-year lease signed in 2022.
- With more than 1,100 lung cancer deaths attributed to radon annually, the prison service's last Censure in 2020 after nine officers were injured underscores how rare such sanctions are.
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holsworthy-today.co.ukReposted by 
tavistock-today.co.uk
tavistock-today.co.ukStaff and inmates exposed to illegal radiation levels at Dartmoor jail
Inspectors concluded that both prisoners and prison staff were exposed to “significantly” elevated radon levels over a prolonged period
·Holsworthy, United Kingdom
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Total News Sources6
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution75% Center
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources are Center
75% Center
L 25%
C 75%
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