HURRICANE UNIFIED COMMAND Calcasieu Parish fry ¦h. PRO"** LOUISIANA 1 October 2006 Completion Report ACCOMPLISHMENTS ATAGUNCE 35 Drinking Water Plant Assessments 71 Industry Damage Assessments 156,032 Hazardous Waste Containers Collected* 3.164 Electronic Items Collected* 13,488 Pounds of Ammunition/ Explosives Collected* 2,233,384 Pounds of Cumulative Waste Disposed* 68 School Lab Assessments Since September 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) have worked to- gether to address environment- tal hazards from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to help Calcasieu Parish recover. One of EPA and LDEQ's first priorities was to ensure residents returning to all the cities affected by the hurricanes had safe drinking water. Throughout Louisiana, assess- ments were conducted at drink- ing water facilities, of which 35 were in Calcasieu Parish. Simi- larly, wastewater treatment plants were assessed for damage. Calcasieu Parish Jefferson Davis Next, EPA and LDEQ turned to federally-permitted facilities. The agencies conducted interviews and site visits at hazardous waste storage, transfer or disposal facili- ties. Facilities in southern Louisiana were addressed, including 71 facilities in Calcasieu Parish. The site visits and interviews estab- lished that employees could return to work at facilities operating in accordance with federal and state regulations. Because of concerns that damaged chemicals in school biology and chemistry laboratories could cause a health hazard, EPA and LDEQ conducted assessments at schools in southern Louisiana. Some chemical containers were found to be damaged by the hurricanes, by flood waters and/or from heat exposure, EPA and LDEQ, in coordina- tion with the Louisiana State Police and local fire departments, re- moved dangerous chemicals from schools in southern Louisiana. Sixty-eight schools in Calcasieu Parish were assessed; chemicals were removed from 13 of them. Paint, computers, washing machines, and refrigerators in homes under normal circumstances are not usually considered hazardous. However, when hundreds of thousands of these items become waste products at the same time, the hazardous components in them could create problems. To help remove these materials from the waste going to Louisiana's municipal landfills, EPA and LDEQ col- lected 156,032 units consisting of hazardous waste containers and home electronics. The hazardous materials were recycled or dis- posed in landfills designed to handle them safely. In southwestern Louisiana parishes, EPA and LDEQ have disposed of 2,233,384 pounds of waste as of September 30, 2006, In response to community concerns about potential harm from fire- arms, ammunition and explosives, EPA began collecting these mate- rials for appropriate disposal in January 2006. In southwestern and south-central Louisiana parishes, 224 firearms and 13,488 pounds of ammunition, explosives, fireworks and other similar items were collected. Left: EPA collecting hazardous material containers. ^Reflects more than Calcasieu Parish activities. ------- |