PA and Secretary Community - Deskdemon.com

In the wake of the attacks, and the current FBI "alert":



Has anyone's mailroom been warned in any way about suspicious packages?  



Have policies of your loading dock changed?

 

Yep, they sure have.  Our "next day deliveries" from the likes of Office Depot, etc are now 2 or 3 days.  It's not that much of a problem--you just adjust your ordering schedule from your end.



What I want to know is if they have taken precautions for biospore-impregnated letters....?   (Come to think of it, I haven't seen one of the mail delivery guys in a LOOOONG time.  hmmmmmm......)



mwc

No unfortunately there isn't much we can do that we aren't already.  Receptionist says we are on our own opening mail, so outside of sorting it that's all she does.  So I don't know if and how we can change that since we are a small/mid-sized company.



Chris68

Found this on the IAAP bulletin board:



US Postal Inspection Service issued a list of characteristics of items that may be dangerous and should be treated with care - report to security. They are:

- Foreign, Priority or Special Delivery Type of Mail

- Restrictive Endorsements used: Confidential, Personal, To Be Opened by Addressee Only

- Visual Directions for Handling: Fragile, Rush, Handle with Care

- Excessive Postage (Usually Postage Stamps)

- Fictitious or No Return Address

- Poorly-Typed or Handwritten Addresses

- Incorrect Titles

- Titles but No Names

- Misspelling of Common Words

- Oily Stains or Discolorations

- Excessive or Uneven Weight Distribution

- Excessive Binding Material: Masking, Electric or Strapping Tape, String, Twine

- Rigid, Lopsided or Uneven Envelope

- Protruding Wires, Screws or Other Metal Parts

- Postmarked from an Area Different from the Return Address



Mail service supervisors, security personnel, receptionists, and executive assistants should be particularly alert to letters and parcels with any of the characteristics noted.



 

Thanks for this sungoddesslv, I am going to print this out on Monday at the office.



Chris68

Thanks!  I wish I could find a similar list on the USPS web site.  You think they'd have something up!

Actually they do have such a list it's Here:

www.usps.com/news/2001/pr...10tips.htm

I did ask my boss for danger pay!

FYI, Our Security and Safety department heads are visiting all of the mailrooms on campus today.  I'll let you know what direction they give us.

 

I seem to be answering my own question here, but in case anyone else is interested, here's the scoop at our place.  In addition, my mailroom staff is wearing gloves when they handle the mail.  Which means that now I have to make arrangements for a hazardous waste pick up because the used gloves must be disposed of in the red hazmat bags, and regular housekeeping doesn't touch them.  One thing leads to another and another...



--------------------------------

Staff members are advised  that if they come in contact with a package or mail that appears suspicious, they should:

 

1- not open or handle the package or mail

2- put the item down gently

3- isolate the item if possible

4- call Security 0-0000.

 

Staff members are advised that packages with no return address, postmarks that don't match the return address or an envelope that feels like it contains a substance, or is oily on the outside, should be considered suspicious.  If a powdery substance is discovered upon opening a package or envelope, staff should:

 

1- close carefully

2- place in a trash bag if possible and tie off the bag

3- set the bag aside

4- do not breathe in the substance

5- wash hands thoroughly with soap and water

6- call security at the above phone numbers immediately.

--------------------------------

 

Working for the government we've just all been told what y'all got off of UPS (though ours came under the FBI letterhead).  Basically, don't open anything that looks suspicious, don't shake it or smell it, set it down, leave the area (securing it if needed), and call local enforcement (ours is VA police).  Watch for signs like leakage on the package, extraneous tape, wires poking out, wrong title/address or title/name combinations, non-professional looking packageing...basically says use common sense.  If you wonder if the package/letter is legitimate, err on the side of caution and report it.  Most of us know what mail we get, what typos or mistakes are normal (aka, Office Depot always sends to CountriGal, Risk Manager, when that's not my title at all), and can make reasonable decisions on the relative safety of mail we receive.  Mostly what we're being told is to be cautious but not paranoid.

Just received an informational email from our Director's office.



Sounds like we should be opening the mail with rubber gloves and surgeon's masks on from now on.

No, I agree with CG common sense in all things.  If you are not expecting mail, DON'T open it.    Just open the mail you are expecting to receive, unless it's catalogs from things like Home Depot or Wal-Mart or somethin, then they should be okay, but if it's something you have never seen before come thru the mail, just throw it out.  That is what I have been doing.



Chris68

I agree -- use common sense for what lands on your desk -- but my mailroom is handling incoming mail for close to 200 people, so they have to handle it all.  It's so creepy that just to handle mail I have to tell them to wear gloves.



Another question -- When do you think these precautions will end?  What if they're waiting for us to let our guard down in a few months or years?  

I dont think the precautions will ever end, I think that there will be some measure of security in place for some time to come which may relax slightly.  And I doubt seriously that any of us will ever look at anything the same way again.  Not even the mail we used to take for granted.



 

I agree that it seems awful and creepy to have to tell mail personnel to use gloves for a precaution.  I did a double-take yesterday when I saw our receptionist wearing gloves as she sorted the mail.



Yesterday our receiving clerk received a box covered in packing tape that she didn't like the look of, addressed to the Receiving Dept, so what did she do?  Put it outside or in a sealed plastic bag or something?  Nooooo, she put it on MY DESK!!!  She "thought it was something I had probably ordered" !!  Grrrrrr!  Anyway, I admit, I spent some time looking it over and trying to convince myself to open it.  Turned out to be a manual ordered by another department.  But I felt so angry and frustrated that something that is such an integral part of our life as the mail is now a source of worry and concern.



All the media coverage is also bringing the nuts out of the woodwork - people mailing cornstarch and baking soda in envelopes causing businesses to evacuate.  Think of all the money this is costing, not to mention all the anxiety it is causing the people involved!!

I don't think this will ever end but likely someone will invent some solution to make this a whole lot easier and less stressful.  



Remember many years ago when some nutcase poisoned Tylenol capsules?  That completely altered the way medicines are packaged to this day.



I personally have no idea what the solution to "poisoned" mail will be but you can bet that whoever figures it out will be loved by letter carrying and opening personnel world-wide.

What annoys me is, now they don't even need actual anthrax to disrupt people's lives--they have succeeded in making everyone afraid, and  entire businesses are shut down for at least a day if any "white powdery substance" is found anywhere, because of course you can't be too careful. Great! Hopefully someone will come up with a solution soon, as Radar suggested, so we can get on with our lives and not let them win in this way!