Barwon Prison gas leak: Report suggests symptoms could be ‘psychosomatic’
A independent report into the suspected gas leaks at Barwon Prison earlier this year suggests the cause of symptoms, which have resulted in two staff seeking compensation, could be psychological.
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Barwon prison workers who claimed they fell ill during suspected gas leaks at a maximum security unit could be suffering from psychological reactions rather than actual exposure, according to a new report.
Two workers have sought compensation over the incident, which also saw the Oleria Unit evacuated and some of the facility’s most serious offenders transferred.
The executive summary of a report produced by VA Sciences, after being engaged by the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS), found the cause of the symptoms experienced by staff could have been a “psychosomatic response” to another staff member collapsing.
A psychosomatic response is when he body displays physical symptoms caused or made worse by mental stress.
The executive summary of the report, seen by the Geelong Advertiser, investigates events that occurred on March 29, April 3 and April 7 at the Olearia Ward at Barwon Prison.
According to the summary, the likely cause of the odour experienced by staff on March 29 was an electrical fault in an “undetermined piece of control room equipment”.
The report rules out carbon monoxide as the cause of symptoms, which included dizziness, light-headedness and headaches, due to it not being an irritant gas, but conceded it may have contributed a small amount to the symptoms.
Symptoms experienced by staff later in the day, the report says, were a result of either a psychosomatic response to another staff member collapsing, or due to the residual effects of exposure to airborne contaminants from the piece of control room equipment.
The report blames the staff member’s collapse on an underlying health condition.
According to the report summary, staff symptoms of nausea reported on April 7 were likely due to odours caused by human faeces, adjacent farms and odorants sprayed to mask the odours.
A DJCS spokeswoman said Corrections Victoria would provide air monitoring systems for the unit following the reports recommendations.
“Corrections Victoria will consult with WorkSafe Victoria, the local health and safety representatives and the CPSU prior to staff and prisoners returning to the unit,” she said.
Despite the safety measures, it’s understood there are reservations among some staff members about returning to Olearia.
On Friday, it was reported Olearia Unit was safe to reopen, meaning the at least 25 inmates currently stationed temporarily in Western Plains Correctional Facility will be moved back to Barwon Prison, although there is currently no set timeline in place for safety reasons.
The Geelong Advertiser revealed in May two prison guards were pursuing compensation weeks after the incident which forced the high-security prison to evacuate.
A spokesman from the Community and Public Sector Union said at the time “a number of our members were impacted by the leak in early April, and we are pursuing their rights through WorkCover”.
The Community and Public Sector Union wouldn’t say where the work cover claims are currently at, or comment on the report.
“We have asked for a meeting with the hygienist,” a spokesman said
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