Latest anthrax scares don’t scare Postal Inspection; they’re prepared

June 11, 2010 by Sofia Resnick  
Filed under National Security Reporting

Suspicious Mail or Packages poster from the United States Postal Service

Several incidents of anthrax scares have been reported around the country, just in the past few days.

On Monday, a man in Jacksonville, Fla., found an envelope in his mailbox filled with a powdery white substance. The Florida Department of Health lab tests came back negative, according to local news.

A couple of hours later, up three states on the East Coast, an envelope containing suspicious powder surfaced at the North Carolina State Capitol. The building was evacuated, but the substance was deemed harmless after having been tested at the North Carolina Division of Public Health, reported the Raleigh News & Observer.

On June 3, a piece of mail suspected of containing anthrax found its way into Washington, D.C.’s Bolling Air Force Base mailroom, says The Washington Times. The mail had triggered an alarm indicating anthrax, and the base was quarantined throughout the morning, but after three subsequent inspections by hazardous material teams, no anthrax was found.

On May 24, an envelope filled with an unknown white powder was found in a federal building in Evansville, Ind., reported by WFIE in Evansville. The building was evacuated, and the FBI turned over the suspicious white powder to be tested by the Vanderburgh County Health Department for anthrax among other possibilities. Results have not yet been disclosed.

Despite these increasing alarms and ever-present threat of weaponized anthrax that has loomed since 2001, when former U.S. Army biodefense scientist Bruce Ivins allegedly mailed anthrax-laden letters that killed five people,  the United States Postal Inspection Service says American’s mail is secure. All suspicious mail that enters the U.S. postal system is subject to tests for biological weapons like anthrax.

2001 was not the first time the Postal Service came across chemical weapons in the mail, said Peter Rendina, assistant inspector in charge at the Washington Division of the Postal Inspection Service. However, the attack prompted the Postal Service to bolster its mail-screening system.

Shortly after the 2001 anthrax attacks, the U.S. Postal Service implemented Biological Detection System units in 270 postal processing and distribution centers, where the nation’s mail is sorted through high-speed machines. The BDS screens the air above the sorting machines for dangerous biological substances. Postal inspectors, who are federal law-enforcement officers, are trained to respond to BDS alerts. Approximately 300 postal inspectors have been trained as HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Removal) specialists, meaning they are trained to use equipment that x-rays and detects suspicious substances that comes through the mail.

“Since 2001 Postal Inspectors have responded to over 38,000 incidents,” Rendina said.  “Most of the time the substances/items were caused by customers wrapping food products incorrectly or forgetting their briefcase or backpack in the Post Office lobby,” Rendina said.

If malicious intent is involved — even if it’s just a “hoax,” postal inspectors investigate the matter. Those who send envelopes of flour or talcum powder to federal agencies or ex-lovers hoping to scare them are subject to fines or prison time.

Additionally, Rendina said, postal employees receive weekly training on postal business, safety and security, including how to detect and report suspicious mail.

“Historically, it’s been the Postal Inspectors’ mission is to protect postal services, its employees and to secure the nation’s mail, Rendina said. “We’re continuing to do what’s needed.”

Share this via