PRISONERS are being moved out of Dartmoor Prison as the prison is shut down due to ‘dangerously high levels’ of the radioactive gas radon.

The Ministry of Justice said that 175 prisoners currently incarcerated here are being moved to other prisons.

The first prisoners are being moved out of the prison in Princetown today, Thursday, with the evacuation due to be completed in two weeks.

The Prison Officers Association said 40 prisoners were being moved at a time.

A South West POA spokesperson said: “It has been announced that due to dangerously high levels of radon on the landings at Dartmoor, it will be getting temporarily closed with immediate effect. They will start decanting the 175 prisoners tomorrow, 40 at a time, aiming for a total decant by the end of the month.

“Staff were informed yesterday and will be temporarily redeployed to other prisons in the area. There will be no compulsory redundancies and they hope to have a quote for remedial work within the next four weeks.”

This comes as the new Government is looking to release prisoners early to ease overcrowding in prisons.

It wants to push legislation through the Commons in the next few weeks to allow it to release prisoners early.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said:  “Our prisons are in crisis. This is the most recent illustration of why this Government was forced, in its first week, to take urgent action to release pressure on the estate. It is also why we are committed to building new prison places to lock up the most dangerous offenders and protect the public.

 “Public safety will always be this Government’s priority. After close monitoring of the situation at HMP Dartmoor, the prison is being temporarily closed and around 175 offenders are being moved to elsewhere in the prison estate.”

The Ministry of Justice said that it would be taking further advice from specialists and keeping staff updated and supported.

The department added that the new Government would be ‘setting out its long-term plan for prison capacity later this year’.

The move follows the transfer of prisoners at Dartmoor Prison several times between November and March after high levels of the odourless and colourless radioactive gas were detected in certain areas.

Radon can be a problem on Dartmoor, as the moor is underpinned by granite, which emits a natural radioactivity. Radon is formed by the decay of uranium which occurs naturally in rocks and soil. 

Radon has been linked to lung cancer deaths.

Dartmoor Prison had been originally slated for closure in 2019 before being granted a reprieve last year due to a shortage of prison places nationwide.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said in its most recent report, for 2022/23, that the Category C prison was overcrowded, understaffed and failed to provide a humane, fair or safe environment for prisoners. The practice of prisoners having to double up in cells designed for one person was condemned.

The prison was originally built to house Napoleonic prisoners of war in the early 1800s. It has been a penal establishment since 1850.