on October 17, 2001, when aides to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle opened an anthrax-laced letter in his office. Several other congressional office buildings also showed evidence of anthrax contamination and had to be fumigated. Responding to these life-threatening hazards, EQ was on site at Capitol Hill within 24 hours with crews and equipment to develop biocidal treatment of Bacillus Anthracis endospores. EQM led, developed, and trained multiple contractors to deal with personnel, equipment, and gasification decontamination. EQM developed “Sampling for Anthrax” training. EQM also designed, constructed, and manned modular multi-chamber decontamination containment systems in three locations in the Hart Senate Office Building. EQM refined construction units to make them quicker to assemble during daily setup and tear-down. EQM developed handbooks, established Standard Operating Procedures, and taught specialized decontamination procedures. Space Shuttle Columbia recovery The Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003. Within hours of the Columbia disaster, U.S. EPA Region 6 used its Emergency and Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contract to contact EQM for help in the recovery effort. The company responded immediately by dispatching a crew to the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Before long, EQM and its team had 75 trained response personnel in the field assisting with the recovery effort. The EQM team was involved with tagging and retrieving the debris and transporting it to a secure location. Due to concerns over hazardous exposures and site disturbances, the company was under pressure to rapidly accomplish and secure recovery. EQM’s staff worked in conjunction with many different local, state, and federal personnel to meet the goal of a quick and complete recovery of the shuttle remains. This project was conducted over a area centered on Texas and Louisiana. Chemical hazards encountered included hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, in addition to risks of explosive, flammable, corrosive, and reactive materials. As a result of this important effort, EQM was honored on July 10, 2003 in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. EPA’s 15th Annual Small & Disadvantaged Business Awards ceremony. The award recognized EQ for its outstanding accomplishments in recovering debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia. Environmental cleanup response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita EQM provided environmental cleanup and waste management services in eight parishes in Louisiana affected by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. The company was an integral part of the search and rescue operation. Days after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the neighboring Gulf