IOWA - An Iowa state agency says the Department of Corrections failed to meet safety standards at a prison where two workers were killed.
Last year, Iowa OSHA fined the department nearly $20,000 for workplace safety violations at the Anamosa State Penitentiary.
Iowa OSHA said the prison didn’t have reliable radios and failed to follow its own emergency response plan.
The two workers were killed during an escape attempt last month.
The DOC is contesting the citations and hearings are scheduled in July.
The complaint said corrections officers at the Anamosa prison were exposed to potential physical attacks during their normal job duties.
It also identified numerous problems and shortcomings with radios that officers used to communicate with each other.
Correctional officer Robert McFarland and nurse Lorena Schulte were killed March 23 when two inmates attacked them armed with hammers.
Inmates Michael Dutcher and Thomas Woodard face first degree murder charges in the attack.
Iowa OSHA is a division of Iowa Workforce Development. It enforces safety standards at state operations and perform inspections that can result in citations and penalties. Iowa OSHA uses an OSHA-approved State Plan and has adopted Federal OSHA Standards.