Legislation would confront environmental injustices in carceral settings and promote decarceration

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety announced the introduction of the Environmental Health in Prisons Act to improve the environmental health outcomes of incarcerated people and carceral facility workers. The legislation directs the Bureau of Prisons and related agencies to publish data on the prevalence of, and exposure to, environmental stressors at federal carceral facilities, including information on air quality, water quality, temperature, humidity, mold, contagious diseases, asbestos, pests, nutrition, light levels and quality, and noise. This information would inform research and support advocacy to decarcerate prison populations.  

“People who are incarcerated are no less deserving of having their dignity and humanity respected – and that includes clean air, water, and living environments,” said Rep. Pressley. “As we work to dismantle our shameful mass incarceration crisis, our bill would affirm the fundamental right to a safe and healthy environment for every person behind the wall. The Environmental Health in Prisons Act brings us one step closer to that reality and I am grateful to Senator Markey and the African American Coalition Committee for their partnership on this bill and centering the experiences of those most impacted.”

“As we work to reduce the number of people behind bars, we must also ensure that those currently incarcerated have access to clean air, water, and living environments, are treated with dignity and respect, and can live in conditions that aren’t dangerous and dehumanizing,” said Senator Markey. “Even short prison sentences can translate into lifelong punishment for returning citizens who are re-exposed to the toxic environments. This legislation would ensure incarcerated people can return to their communities as healthy, productive individuals with a new lease on life. I thank Congresswoman Pressley and the members of the African American Coalition Committee at MCI-Norfolk for their partnership on this legislation.”

Incarcerated people and carceral facility workers are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards compared to non-incarcerated individuals and those who do not work in carceral facilities, often resulting in the development of chronic health issues such as cancer, hypertension, asthma, heart disease, and diabetes. For example, almost a third of state and Federal carceral facilities are located within three miles of Superfund sites contaminated with at least one hazardous substance. Additionally, heat indices in prisons can exceed 150 degrees Fahrenheit – yet many prisons do not have air conditioning or proper ventilation. And in the last 20 years, more than 5,000 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act were logged at hundreds of prisons across the country, exposing incarcerated people and staff at these facilities to toxic water. These environmental hazards can lead to adverse health outcomes for both incarcerated people and the surrounding communities if they continue to be unaddressed.

“Incarcerated people get the bottom of the barrel when it comes to food, healthcare, and environmental protection. But these inequities aren’t just hurting people behind bars. Toxic prison environments are just a continuation of the pollution that affects many Black communities in Massachusetts and across the country,” said William “7even” Ragland, the Chairman of the African American Coalition Committee at MCI-Norfolk. “The African American Coalition Committee isn’t looking for a savior – we are looking for an ally. We are proud to partner with Senator Markey and Congresswoman Pressley to bring our knowledge and experience to legislation like the Environmental Health in Prisons Act. We do better together than we do apart.” 

“We at Prison Policy Initiative strongly support the Environmental Health in Prisons Act, which creates greater transparency around environmental hazards for incarcerated people and the general public,” said Sarah Staudt, Policy & Advocacy Director at the Prison Policy Initiative. “It adds a much-needed layer of independent oversight from a prison system that has long deprioritized the environmental well-being of those they imprison. People in prisons are often subjected to hazardous environmental conditions that can have deep and long-lasting physical and mental health consequences, can socially and economically devastate families and communities, and can create enormous strain on the prison system, which is tasked with providing long-term medical care and mental health care in the aftermath. We are proud to support these efforts toward better policy, more equitable and ethical environmental justice, and the recognition of incarcerated people as human beings with a right to be free of toxic prison conditions.” 

“For decades the ACLU has challenged dangerous and degrading environmental conditions in prisons throughout the United States. This bill is a major step toward guaranteeing a safe and healthy environment for all those who live, work, and visit in our nation’s prisons,” said David C. Fathi, Director of the ACLU National Prison Project. 

“Toxic conditions and environmental injustice are a hallmark of carceral systems nationwide, contributing to a reduced life expectancy for imprisoned people,” said Jesse White, Policy Director at Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts. “Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts is grateful for Senator Markey’s leadership to bring greater transparency and accountability regarding environmental health to the federal system, and we hope the Environmental Health in Prisons Act will lead to improvements in Massachusetts prisons and jails as well, with a particular focus on safely decarcerating our aging and vulnerable populations.” 

“Far too many corrections facilities have substandard environmental conditions such as extreme temperatures, polluted air and water, and other hazards to both incarcerated people and carceral staff,” said Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, Secretary of Justice and Ecology, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. “The Environmental Health in Prisons Act constitutes a crucial step toward improving the safety of carceral institutions and ensuring the right to a healthy environment for all. We thank Senator Markey for introducing this legislation that honors the God-given dignity of vulnerable populations often forgotten by society.” 

“This vital legislation recognizes that incarcerated populations amount to the 5th largest city in the nation yet are afforded no concerted environmental health oversight,” said Dr. Nick Shapiro, Director of the Carceral Ecologies Lab. “The bill is a much-needed, empirically grounded, and feasible step towards promoting the environmental health and dignity of incarcerated people. Nowhere else in this country do people have less control over their environment than in carceral facilities, spaces where the government has full agency over what people breathe, eat, and drink need this kind of oversight to ensure the health of some of the populations most vulnerable to environmental harm.” 

“Citizens and residents of the United States are experiencing ever more hazardous extreme weather events, including heat waves, which have become dramatically more common under climate change,” said Dr. Robbie Parks, director of the SPARK lab NYC. “During periods of extreme weather, incarcerated people suffer excessively and disproportionately due to their typical lack of recourse to common sense cooling. Legislation focused on carceral facilities which mandate safe temperature ranges, enhanced social and physical infrastructure, and reasonable health system interventions will provide critical means to the goal of preserving life and dignity for all people.” 

“If it is true that the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons, then America has a serious problem,” said Dr. David Pellow, director of the Global Environmental Justice Project.” “The Environmental Health in Prisons Act is a comprehensive vision for how to ensure the protection of some of the most vulnerable members of our society. As a researcher who has studied the linkages between prisons and environmental health concerns for many years, I wholeheartedly support this bill because its impacts will benefit our entire society.” 

The legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) and Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

The Environmental Health in Prisons Act is endorsed by the Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health, African American Coalition Committee at Massachusetts Correctional Institution Norfolk, American Civil Liberties Union, Bellwether Collaborative at Duke University, Carceral Ecologies Lab, Center for American Progress, Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants, SPARK lab NYC, Global Environmental Justice Project, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, LeMasters Lab at the University of Colorado, Prisoners’ Legal Services Massachusetts, Prison Policy Initiative, Vera Institute, and WATER EPI Lab. 

Following their March 2024 visit to Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Norfolk, Rep. Pressley and Senator Markey introduced the Declaration of Environmental Rights for Incarcerated People. This resolution affirms the human right of nearly two million people currently incarcerated in the United States to a healthy and safe environment and to advocate for protecting and improving their environmental health. The resolution specifically recognizes decarceration as the principal strategy to address environmental health harms of criminal legal systems.  

On Juneteenth, Rep. Pressley announced the reintroduction of the People’s Justice Guarantee (PJG) – a comprehensive, decarceration-focused resolution that outlines a framework for a fair, equitable and just legal system. 

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