Politics

EPA: Cleaning Our Environment, Fouling Its Own Hallways with Feces

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Environmental bureaucrats: they are just like us! If we like to leave feces around the hallways of our offices, that is.

dirtyboxface / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Some digging from Government Executive uncovers some Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions that could be said to pollute the human, if not the natural, environment:

Management for [Environmental Protection Agency] Region 8 in Denver, Colo., wrote an email earlier this year to all staff in the area pleading with them to stop inappropriate bathroom behavior, including defecating in the hallway.  

In the email, obtained by Government Executive, Deputy Regional Administrator Howard Cantor mentioned "several incidents" in the building, including clogging the toilets with paper towels and "an individual placing feces in the hallway" outside the restroom.

Confounded by what to make of this occurrence, EPA management "consulted" with workplace violence "national expert" John Nicoletti, who said that hallway feces is in fact a health and safety risk. He added the behavior was "very dangerous" and the individuals responsible would "probably escalate" their actions….

EPA spokesman Richard Mylott provided the following statement:

"EPA cannot comment on ongoing personnel matters. EPA's actions in response to recent workplace issues have been deliberate and have focused on ensuring a safe work environment for our employees. Our brief consultation with Dr. Nicoletti on this matter, a resource who regularly provides our office with training and expertise on workplace issues, reflects our commitment to securing a safe workplace."