Eleven staff members at Auburn Correctional Facility were treated at a hospital after separate exposures to unknown substances over a three-day period last week.
The first incident occurred Aug. 3 when two officers conducting a cell frisk encountered inmate mail that felt damp. Both became lightheaded, with headaches and chills, and were transported to the hospital after initial treatment by prison medical staff. Officials have not determined what substance was on the mail.
On Aug. 5, a second incident began when an officer detected a chemical burning smell in a cell block. Another staff member reported a similar odor, and a third officer was exposed to smoke blown into his face by an inmate. That officer later experienced dizziness, nausea, and elevated blood pressure and was taken to Auburn Hospital…