BLOOMINGTON — Several Monroe County employees were forced to flee the Charlotte T. Zietlow Justice Center on Tuesday morning after an overpowering, rotten-egg odor spread throughout the facility, causing multiple staff members to fall ill.
The incident occurred late Tuesday morning, Aug. 4, when county employees rushed outside the building to seek fresh air. Inside, workers opened normally sealed windows to vent the fumes.
At least two employees vomited, while others reported severe nausea, headaches, and watery eyes.
The source of the noxious odor was identified in an email sent at 12:47 p.m. to county commissioners by Chief Deputy Sheriff Phil Parker, who apologized for the “disruption and major imposition.”
Parker explained that due to the age and deteriorating condition of the jail’s plumbing, drain lines frequently experience blockages. After running out of their standard cleaning product, jail maintenance workers substituted a liquid drain cleaner they do not typically use.
“This cleaner obviously has had unanticipated effects and resulted in the strong odor that is permeating the Justice Center,” Parker wrote in his email. “I understand this odor has become overwhelming in some areas of the building.”
Chemical drain openers often contain sulfuric acid. While sulfuric acid itself does not emit a rotten-egg scent, mixing acid with sulfide-containing sewage can produce hydrogen sulfide gas. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), moderate exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas can trigger headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and staggering.
Unable to tolerate the smell, some employees left work for the day. Others reported the illnesses to the county commissioners’ office. After calling a poison control hotline, staff was advised to contact the local fire department to conduct air-quality testing, prompting employees to reach out to fire officials.
Tuesday’s chemical event follows a string of physical and environmental setbacks at the aging facility, where the county jail is located directly above courtrooms and government offices.
Ironically, the odor incident came shortly after county officials received reassuring news regarding mold concerns. A July 30 report from the Indiana Department of Health, based on samples taken July 22, concluded that the building’s indoor air quality was acceptable, with fungal concentrations and humidity levels remaining within safe benchmarks.
However, those air samples were taken just days before a major plumbing disaster on July 24, when a bag containing e-cigarettes was flushed down a jail toilet. The resulting blockage caused wastewater from upper-floor jail units to burst through the ceiling into courts and office spaces below, forcing a temporary building closure for drywall removal, sanitation, and carpet extraction.
The continuous facility failures highlight growing frustration among staff and elected officials. Monroe County leaders remain locked in debates over selecting a location for a new county jail and deciding the future of the current Justice Center. A structure that Commissioners Administrator Angie Purdie recently described as “dying.”
The infrastructure challenges come at a critical time, as county government also faces a new lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) regarding living conditions inside the jail.
