GALVESTON, TX - A dozen county jail prisoners have filed federal civil rights complaints, accusing jailers of keeping them in unhealthy conditions.

Inmate Corey Smith's complaint states that he had suffered “headaches, stiffness, cramping and blurred vision.” His complaint states his belief that lead-based paint and exposure to asbestos in the facility caused his illness.

Sheriff Gean Leonard, whose agency is in charge of the jail, said he could not comment specifically on the allegations in the complaints, as he had not been served with copies as of Saturday. However, he did say that repeated inspections in the past years had showed no asbestos in the facility.

“We have tested for it, and the only place we've ever had to do asbestos abatement is the first floor, and that was years ago,” he said.

Smith and the other inmates also allege health concerns based on the slots through which their meal trays enter their jail pod.

According to the complaints, a jail trustee scrubbed the slot with a brush that had previously been used to scrub toilets. As a result, the complaints assert, inmates' food is potentially tainted with fecal matter.

Leonard said deputies at the jail took the health and welfare of the inmates seriously.

“We have a responsibility to maintain standards regarding health and personal safety, and we are vigilant in seeing to it that the best possible conditions can be kept, with the help of the inmates themselves,” he said.