The operation to repair mouse damage at a jail at Wellington will engage contractors from western NSW and surrounding areas, the state's prisons department says.
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The project continues at Wellington Correctional Centre, two months after authorities relocated more than 420 inmates because of the effects and challenges of the plague.
Rodents damaged internal wiring and ceiling panels, and in June Corrective Services NSW said removing as many staff and inmates as possible would expedite the remediation works.
The department has previously noted the pests carry infections that can spread to humans, either through direct contact or contact with soil, food and water contaminated by infected mice.
A Corrective Services spokeswoman this month said the jail site had been deep-cleaned and assessed by engineers.
"Building works are scheduled to begin soon," she said.
"The project will engage contractors from regional western NSW and surrounding areas."
Most of the about 200 staff members had been redeployed to other prisons in the western region including the nearby Macquarie, and Bathurst correctional centres, the spokeswoman said.
Some staff are completing additional training, while a skeleton crew remains at Wellington to oversee and contribute to remediation work, she says.
Minimum-security inmates residing at Macquarie Correctional Centre are operating some Wellington prison industries including printing, engineering and manufacturing.
The project will look at ways to protect the centre's infrastructure from future mouse plagues.
The latest CSIRO mouse update identified mouse numbers were of concern in many regions of NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia and urgent action was needed to minimise damage and losses.
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I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
