GSA Report Shows EPA Warehouse Has Secret ‘Man Caves’
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Image credit: EPA OIG(LANDOVER, Md.) — Everyone needs a little personal space in the office.
At least, workers at a warehouse leased by the Environmental Protection Agency, in Landover, Md., seem to think so. EPA’s inspectors found secret rooms at the facility filled with exercise equipment, televisions, refrigerators, microwaves and couches. The “man caves” also boasted photos, pinup pictures, calendars, clothing, books, magazines and videos, according to a report dated May 31.
To hide the rooms from security cameras, the employees–who worked for Apex Logistics, LLC, and not directly for the EPA–piled up screens, partitions and boxes in front of them.
According to the report, first made public in Government Executive, the 70,000 square foot warehouse, which is owned by the General Services Administration and leased to the EPA for about $750,000 per year, is filled with everything from computers and other electronic equipment to letterhead paper and office furniture.
There was also, “corrosion, vermin feces, mold and other problems” along with, “unsecured racks (shelves) and poorly balanced inventory items that hung over the upper edges of the racks.”
Additionally, there were potential fire hazards from propane stored in trucks and other vehicles, parked inside the building.
EPA spokesperson Alisha Johnson told ABC News that as soon as the organization discovered the areas, they “took immediate action to secure the warehouse and its contents, and issued a stop work order to the contractor.” The EPA also investigated other warehouses and storage spaces, but did not find other problems.
EPA is also in the process of developing a security plan and new operating procedures for management of the warehouse, she said.
Apex did not return calls for comment.
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