BELLEFONTE, Pa. — Employees and first responders reported feeling ill at SCI Rockview Tuesday in an incident that is the latest in a string of similar reports this month.
Since the beginning of August, at least 25 prison employees have reported feeling ill after coming into contact with "unknown substances" at state prisons located mostly in the western half of the state.
The Department of Corrections also announced Tuesday that officials said security staff at nearby SCI Benner Township discovered drugs located in the non-contact visiting booth at the facility Monday.
Officials said security discovered 82.47 grams of the powerful synthetic drug K2 Monday at SCI Benner and that an investigation is underway.
DOC officials said Tuesday morning at SCI Rockview one employee was sorting inmate request slips and began to feel ill.
She was taken to the prison's medical area and an ambulance was called. The second employee began feeling lightheaded as she was sorting mail.
DOC officials said both employees work at the same building at the complex and that the building was evacuated. In a news release Tuesday evening, a DOC spokeswoman said that both employees were discharged from the hospital, but that "toxicology and urinalysis tests were inconclusive."
Centre County EMA Director Jeff Wharran said that members of the Pleasant Gap Fire Company began to "show symptoms" because the "substance was so strong," when they arrived on the scene.
County officials reported six first responders fell ill and several needed Narcan as the substance believed they came in contact with was fetanyl.
In response, Centre County officials sent out a warning to court employees on how to protect themselves from fetanyl.
These matters is one of several drug incidents reported at state correctional institutes within the last week. On Monday, the DOC told 6 News that test results on the substances have not come back yet, although the head of the corrections officers union said he's heard from officials that the substances could be synthetic drugs like carfentanil or K2.
Over the weekend, a corrections officer at SCI Smithfield was taken to the hospital after coming into contact with an unknown substance. The corrections officer has since been released from the hospital.
Officials also said an inmate and a visitor were suspected of trying to smuggle drugs into SCI Houtzdale over the weekend.
The inmate swallowed the suspected drugs and is being held until it passes and the female visitor was taken into custody.
DOC officials said they are developing a daily log of drug-related incidents that will be publicly available on their website starting Sept. 4.
This article has been updated with new information from the Centre County Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Corrections.
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