FOX 8 News received this news release from the state's Joint Information Center Tuesday afternoon:
BATON ROUGE -- The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is reminding people in the impacted area of Hurricane Isaac and the flooding aftermath to be cautious around orphaned containers and sheens on the water.
State and federal officials, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, are asking residents to avoid any contact with chemicals or pollution they come across, and to report it to the Coast Guard New Orleans Operations Center at 504-365-2200, the National Response Center at 800-424-8802 or the DEQ hotline at 225-219-3640, during working hours or 225-342-1234 or 888-763-5424 after hours. Also, if there is an emergency situation, call local 911 or closest local emergency responder.
DEQ, along with its state, federal and local partners, continue to conduct assessments in the impacted area. There have been several small sheens found. Agencies are working with possible responsible parties to clean up any spills.
Floodwaters could also contain bacteria from a variety of sources. Avoid contact with floodwater whenever possible. Sometimes after storm events, drums or others types of containers get displaced. These containers may contain hazardous waste and may need special type of disposal method.
The public should not handle these containers.
