On November 8, 2019, at 10:30 a.m., the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF) mail room received an envelope with an unknown substance. The mail room area was secured and the administration building evacuated. Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Hazardous Materials Team, the Oregon State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations are on site to evaluate the powder for any hazardous substances. Five employees were working in the mail room and two have been transported to a local hospital for evaluation.

Every day, thousands of pieces of mail are received at the Department of Corrections’ (DOC) 14 institutions, and each piece is opened and examined. DOC mail room employees are a critical component of operating safe and secure institutions because they help keep drugs and other contraband out of the state’s prisons.

This is the second evacuation of the CCCF administration building in the last two months. On September 11, mail room employees received an envelope with an unknown substance. The four mail room employees were decontaminated and transported to a local hospital with minor symptoms. The Oregon State Police investigated and determined the substance to be non-biological and a non-controlled substance.

CCCF is a multi-custody prison located in Wilsonville accommodating 1,260 adults in custody. The prison has cell and dormitory housing, work programs, skills training, treatment programs, health services, religious services, physical plant, a central records unit, and administrative areas. CCCF participates in prison industries with Oregon Corrections Enterprises, including a contact center, auto CAD, and document scanning. In addition, CCCF houses the state’s intake center, which provides intake and evaluation of all individuals committed to state custody by the courts. The intake center houses approximately 400 adults in custody. CCCF’s minimum facility opened in 2001, and the medium facility opened in 2002.