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EPA Finds Workers Using 'Man Caves'

Audit also uncovers vermin feces and 'pervasive' mold
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 8, 2013 11:28 AM CDT
EPA Finds Workers Using 'Man Caves'
A man-cave activity in progress.   (Shutterstock)

Contractors for the Environmental Protection Agency have apparently been hard at work—in secret man caves furnished with pin-ups, TVs, fridges, and comfy couches. The EPA says it uncovered the screened-off rooms in a warehouse in Landover, Md, where contractors have supplied services to the agency since 2007. Most of their $5.3 million contract went to paying workers—which raises "questions about time charges made by warehouse employees" under the deal, says an EPA report.

The EPA also found a shoddy record-keeping system, passports in an open box, and "deplorable conditions" like vermin feces, corrosion, and "pervasive" mold, reports GovExec. The EPA's reaction? To stop working with the contractor, Apex Logistics LLC, and order a review of all EPA facilities. But those rooms were pretty sweet: Hidden from video cameras, they included microwaves, clothes, magazines, videos, and all-important exercise equipment. (Maybe they really just needed treadmill desks?)

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