HURRICANE UNIFIED COMMAND
St. Tammany Parish
Orleans Parish
St. James
St. Charles
Jefferson
Parish
Plaquemines
Lafourche
Terrebonne
Jefferson Parish

pro***
October 2006
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
AT A GLANCE
Drinking Water Plant
Assessments
125	Wastewater Facility
Assessments
133	Industry Damage
Assessments
170,966 Hazardous Waste
Containers Collected
41,488 Electronic Items
Collected
80,834 White Goods Collected
15,567 Pounds of Freon
Extracted
61,808 Pounds of
Ammunition/
Explosives Collected*
1,668,970 Pounds of Cumulative
Waste Disposed
129	School Lab
Assessments
Completion Report
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 Jeffer-
son Parish recover.
Left:
EPA sampling a
source of Jefferson
Parish drinking
water.
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,
assessments were conducted at
drinking water facilities, of which
3 were in Jefferson Parish. Simi-
larly, 125 wastewater treatment
plants were assessed for
damage.
Next, EPA and LDEQ turned to
federally-permitted facilities.
The agencies conducted
interviews and site visits at
hazardous waste storage, trans-
fer or disposal facilities. Facilities
in southern Louisiana were ad-
dressed, including 133 facilities
in Jefferson Parish. The site
visits and interviews established
that employees could return to work at facilities operating in accor-
dance with federal and state regulations.
collected 293,288 units consisting of appliances, hazardous waste
containers, and home electronics. The hazardous materials were
recycled or disposed in landfills designed to handle them safely. In
Jefferson Parish, EPA and LDEQ have disposed of 1,668,970 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 Jefferson Parish, 8
firearms were collected. In southeastern Louisiana, 61,808 pounds
of ammunition, explosives, fireworks and other similar items were
collected.
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.
One hundred twenty-nine schools in Jefferson Parish were assessed;
chemicals were removed from 22 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
* Reflects more than Jefferson Parish activities.

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