You can also try the untaint method of IO::File:

use IO::File;
my $fh = new IO::File;
$fh->open("<$usrhash") or die ......;
$fh->untaint();
flock($fh, LOCK_SH) or die..........;
$/=undef;
eval <$fh>;
$fh->close();
$/="\n"; 
my %newhash=%$USRLST1; # the reference as created by Data::Dumper
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Of course, this bypasses the protection that taint mode offers, so it should only be used with great care.

-jehuni