Multiple people hospitalized after exposure to white powder at Phoenix-area prison

PHOENIX — More than a dozen people were treated after being exposed to an unknown powder at a Phoenix-area prison Tuesday morning, authorities said, but the substance apparently wasn’t hazardous.

The incident occurred at the San Carlos unit of the Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville in Goodyear, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.

A small bag of white powder was found around 6:30 a.m. on a transport vehicle at an administration building that doesn’t house inmates, ADCRR said in a press release.

A correctional officer who started feeling dizzy and light-headed after handling the substance was taken to a hospital “out of an abundance of precaution,” ADCRR said.

Multiple other staff members also were taken to a hospital as a precaution after reporting similar symptoms, ADCRR said.

It wasn’t clear how many patients in total were eventually taken to a hospital.

What did hazmat crews find at the scene?

The Goodyear Fire Department told KTAR News 92.3 FM in an email that hazmat crews from Goodyear, Phoenix, Buckeye and Peoria responded to the prison.

Three of the correctional facility’s staff members were taken to a hospital before crews arrived, and 13 other patients were treated, Goodyear Fire said.

Firefighters isolated the area where the substance was found and tested a sample at the scene.

“The substance was determined to be non-hazardous. A sample of the substance will be sent to state lab for further analysis by prison officials,” Goodyear Capt. Kevin Boyd said in the email.

The scene has been turned over to prison officials, Boyd said.

ADCRR said it was investigating the incident.

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