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Hurricane Katrina Response Activities Daily Update

Release Date: 10/8/2005
Contact Information: For more information contact the Office of External Affairs at (214) 665-2200.

     The incident response moved most personnel and equipment from Baton Rouge to New Orleans today, while maintaining field operations of ongoing efforts to collect household hazardous wastes, sample sediment and water and perform air monitoring.

     EPA continues its assessment of all "National Priorities List" (Superfund) sites in the paths of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Sampling on all NPL sites affected by the hurricanes continues and is expected to be completed in several weeks.

     EPA along with the Louisiana Dept. of Health and Hospitals (LDHH), and the Louisiana Rural Water Association (LRWA) continued to evaluate status of drinking water systems in areas of the state impacted by the hurricanes.  EPA continued to inspect water truck tanks and performed chlorine residual analyses at tank truck filling locations.  Bacteriological analyses for individual private well water in Livingston and public water systems in Kinder also continued.

     Outfall water samples were collected from several pump stations in Orleans Parish.  EPA continued sampling of flood water and surface water in Orleans Parish and St. Tammany Parishes.

     Air monitoring operations were conducted in the following Parishes: Plaquemines, Kenner, Meraux, City Park and Marrero.

     The Murphy Oil spill site continues to be a focus of significant attention, such as soil and air sampling.  EPA also started a removal at Maritime Oil Recovery Co. site in Belle Chasse.

     Collection of household hazardous wastes efforts are ongoing in Jefferson, Plaquemines, St Tammany, Lafourche/Terrebonne, Grand Isle and Orleans Parishes.  Over 65,000 containers of household hazardous material, such as cleaning solvents, batteries, lawn and garden products, etc. have been collected to date.