Unknown substance caused chest pain, muscle spasms in staffers at California prison, report says

Five staffers were hospitalized after an unknown substance was discovered in a Chino prison, authorities said Tuesday, Jan 20.

Firefighters with the Chino Valley Fire District responded to the California Institution for Women just before 10 a.m., Tuesday, the district said.

They responded after “an unknown chemical substance was found on a joint and a Bible page” at the prison, according to an initial hazardous materials spills report filed with the state.

The unknown substance left a sludge-like residue and caused those exposed to it to have chest pain and muscle spasms, the report said.

A hazardous materials team responded to identify the substance and determine how to clean it up, the report said.

Officials at the California Institution for Women and the Chino Valley Fire District didn’t immediately respond to a request for more information.