THOMSON, Ill. —Seventeen staff members at the U.S. Penitentiary in Thomson, Illinois, were hospitalized on April 16th, after being exposed to an unidentified substance in the facility’s mailroom, according to union leadership.
Jon Zumkehr, President of AFGE Local 4070, which represents employees at the prison, said most of the affected staff received naloxone (Narcan), a medication commonly used to reverse opioid overdoses. By the following morning, all 17 individuals had been released from the hospital and were recovering at home.
This marks the eighth such incident involving staff exposure and hospitalization at Thomson this year, according to Zumkehr, who is urging immediate federal action. The union is demanding that Congress pass House Bill 1046 and the implementation of comprehensive screening procedures across all federal correctional facilities.
“The Federal Bureau of Prisons can no longer remain silent while drug traffickers exploit our mail systems and endanger our staff,” Zumkehr told KWQC TV6. “These aren’t just statistics – these are real people with families who deserve to return home safely after their shifts.”
In response to the incident, the prison has suspended visitation and remains on lockdown. Both the FBI and hazardous materials teams were called to the scene to investigate.
