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U.S. Postal Service: Guidance on Suspicious Mail Needs Further Refinement

GAO-05-716 Published: Jul 19, 2005. Publicly Released: Aug 08, 2005.
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Highlights

In October 2003, an envelope marked "Caution: Ricin Poison" was discovered at an airmail facility in Greenville, South Carolina. Ricin is a poison that, in certain forms, can cause death. The U.S. Postal Service has emphasized to its employees to be on the alert for "suspicious mail" that may pose a threat and has developed guidance for them on how to identify and respond to such mail, in order to protect them from harm. Postal inspectors and emergency responders help in the responses to suspicious mail by performing an initial assessment of the threat it poses. This report describes (1) actions taken by various agencies, in responding to the incident, to protect the health of postal employees and the public; (2) Postal Service guidance related to suspicious mail in place in October 2003 and the extent to which it was followed during the incident; and (3) subsequent changes made in this guidance and the extent to which current guidance addresses issues raised by the incident.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
United States Postal Service To help prepare postal personnel to respond to future incidents involving mail that may contain biological or chemical agents, the Postmaster General should have the Postal Service provide guidance to employees on the response actions to take in the event a mail piece has characteristics of both suspicious mail and mail containing hazardous material.
Closed – Implemented
In February 2006, USPS provided guidance to employees on responding to mail that has characteristics of both suspicious mail and mail containing hazardous material by revising standard operating procedures for handling and processing mail containing or believed to contain hazardous material. These procedures instruct employees to use suspicious mail handling procedures if they identify a mailpiece that has characteristics of suspicious mail.
United States Postal Service To help prepare postal personnel to respond to future incidents involving mail that may contain biological or chemical agents, the Postmaster General should have the Postal Service expand its suspicious mail training for managers and supervisors to include (1) exercises for responding to various scenarios involving suspicious mail pieces, including scenarios in which a mail piece is suspicious but is not leaking a powder; and (2) instructions on how soon inspectors should be called after the discovery of a suspicious mail piece.
Closed – Implemented
USPS completed the development of several types of suspicious mail training for managers and supervisors in August 2006, including an instruction packet with several suspicious mail "service talks" (talks given to employees by their supervisors), an on-line course and training video. The packet and on-line course both include exercises on identifying suspicious mail that is not leaking a powder, as well as the correct response actions to take. In addition, all three training tools emphasize that the inspection service should be called immediately after a suspicious mailpiece is found. For example, the on-line course covers the appropriate response to a suspicious letter or package and states the following: "The following is very important. The supervisor or manager is required to call the Postal Inspection Service as the first notification in an incident involving suspicious mail and unknown powders or substances." In the training video, the announcer states that "if a suspicious mailpiece is discovered, it is vital to contact the Inspection Service immediately." Finally, in October 2005, USPS revised the existing suspicious mail exercise for managers and supervisors to include contacting the postal inspection service as one of the initial immediate actions managers and supervisors should take.
United States Postal Service To help prepare postal personnel to respond to future incidents involving mail that may contain biological or chemical agents, the Postmaster General should have the Postal Service provide explicit guidance to managers on communicating with employees and unions regarding incidents in which a suspicious mail piece is sent for testing. This guidance should specify when information should be provided and to whom and what types of information should be shared.
Closed – Implemented
In response to our recommendation, USPS has provided explicit guidance to managers on communicating with employees and unions regarding incidents in which a mailpiece is sent for testing. This new guidance stipulates when information should be provided and to whom and what types of information should be shared. Specifically, in August 2007, the USPS revised its online training to supervisors and managers on responding to suspicious mail incidents to include this more explicit guidance on communications. The training states that "the Postal Service is committed to providing prompt information to employees and their unions. The installation head is responsible for managing the communication process. He or she will...develop timely stand up talks that will be given throughout the phases of the response as they unfold..." The guidance also specifies the types of information that should be provided, including information about precautionary actions being taken as a response progresses.

Full Report

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Topics

Emergency preparednessEmergency response plansEmployee trainingHazardous materials emergency responseHazardous substancesHealth hazardsOccupational safetyPolicy evaluationPostal facilitiesPostal servicePostal service employeesStrategic planningMail security