There is an article in the Times Picayune regarding the EPS’s handling of the post Katrina clean up.  The agency is criticized for not monitoring for asbestos fibers during demolition and clean up.  This mistep could lead to thousands of clean up workers coming down with illnesses similar to the diseases experienced by 9-11 workers. 

The agency is also criticized in the report for taking too long to remove hazardous materials from wildlife refuges.  The delay in removal allowed containers of hazardous materials to leak into the refuges, endangering the ecosystems.

In addition, it appears the agency failed to provide guidance to local authorities in storm debris disposal, which resulted in the improper removal to landfills of various storm debris materials and could result in a negative impact to the environment in the long term.