How has hazardous waste been handled?
All three states that were primarily affected by Hurricane Katrina were authorized in the mid-1980s to implement the hazardous waste provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which regulate hazardous waste disposal in lieu of the Federal government. EPA has confidence in these state programs. In extraordinary circumstances, such as a major hurricane that produces enormous amounts of debris, it is inevitable that some hazardous materials and debris that are co-mingled with other debris may be disposed of in non-hazardous waste landfills, or burned in debris piles, though that use of these practices decline as cleanup and recovery progresses. However, the affected states, with EPA support, are already providing guidance to their citizens and industry on how to safely segregate, handle and dispose of hazardous materials and other debris. This guidance focuses on the safety of cleanup workers and nearby residents, and the use of emergency disposal methods that minimize the
