But planners abandoned the idea, electing instead to incorporate the project into an overall prison expansion approved by lawmakers. Flaws in the legislation have postponed the expansion indefinitely.
State project manager Gary Lewis said the filtration plant is in the "conceptual study phase."
This year the EPA has ordered 11 California water systems to reduce excessive arsenic levels. One was the city of Delano, which serves the North Kern State Prison, a few miles from Kern Valley prison. On Dec. 12, after inquiries by The Times, the state public health department ordered Kern Valley State Prison to come up with a plan by February to comply with the arsenic law.
The prison's chief medical officer, Dr. Sherry Lopez, said there was no immediate danger from the lockup's water, based on an e-mail she received in April from a poison-control expert who said arsenic is "much more a regulatory problem than a public health problem."
"It kind of reassured me and everybody else here that everything is OK," Lopez said.
But Dr. Gina Solomon, a scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, said that the law is important and that disempowered populations, such as prisoners and poor rural workers, often suffer because of lax enforcement.
"The standard was set for a reason, and the reason is that arsenic is known to cause cancer in humans," she said. "So the clock is ticking. The longer that people are drinking the water, the higher the risk."
Many of Kern Valley's prisoners are serving life terms, but even those with shorter stints are worried.
"It's definitely a concern for us if there's an abundance of arsenic in the water and we're ingesting that," said Dylan Littlefield, 36, an inmate from Hollywood with five years remaining for attempted robbery and drug dealing. "Who knows if we're going to be treated properly?"
The healthcare system in the state's prisons has been turned over to a federal receiver by a judge who said substandard treatment has caused many needless deaths behind bars. The receiver, J. Clark Kelso, was not alerted to the arsenic problem by the state, his top aide said.
"We're concerned about the potential health risks and we have to look into it," said John Hagar, the receiver's chief of staff. "Constructing facilities that are inadequate from the beginning is unfortunately part of a long-standing trend with the Department of Corrections, so I'm not surprised."
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michael.rothfeld@latimes.com
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
What is arsenic?
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element in rocks, soil and water.
Uses
Industrial, in wood preservatives and some paints and dyes
Agricultural, in some fertilizers and animal feed
Health effects
Ingestion of high levels can lead to death.
Lower levels can cause nausea, vomiting and darkening of the skin.
Long-term ingestion of unsafe amounts may increase the risk of some cancers.
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Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Human Services
