23-C-4. Other Environmental Health and Safety Cases
Other environmental and safety conditions have also been found to violate the Eighth Amendment. Inadequate ventilation and deprivation of outdoor exercise have been found to violate the Eighth Amendment.118 In addition, excessive heat,119 excessive cold,120 polluted water,121 toxic or noxious fumes,122 exposure to sewage,123 lack of fire safety,124 inadequate food or unsanitary food service,125 inadequate lighting or constant lighting,126 exposure to insects, rodents and other vermin,127 exposure to asbestos,128 and exposure to the extreme behavior of severely mentally ill prisoners129 have all been found to violate a prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights.
118. Keenan v. Hall, 83 F.3d 1083, 1090 (9th Cir. 1996) opinion amended on denial of reh'g, 135 F.3d 1318 (9th Cir. 1998) (finding it to be cruel and unusual punishment to deprive a prisoner of outdoor exercise for six months).
119. Gates v. Cook, 376 F.3d 323, 334, 339-40 (5th Cir. 2004) (determining that the probability of heat-related illness is high enough to state an 8th Amendment claim).
120. Gaston v. Coughlin, 249 F.3d 156, 164-66 (2d Cir. 2001) (finding exposure to freezing and sub-zero...
