How to Handle Suspicious Mail

The U.S. Postal Service Tips on Mail

How likely is it that someone would receive a harmful biological or chemical substance in the mail?

The Postal Service delivers approximatelyh308 billion pieces of mail per year. Presently, there have been only two confirmed incidents of anthrax bacteria being sent through the mail.

What should I do if I receive an anthrax threat by mail?

• Do not handle the mail piece or package suspected of contamination.
• Notify your supervisor, who will immediately contact the Inspection Service, local police, safety office or designated person.
• Make sure that damaged or suspicious packages are isolated and the immediate area cordoned off.
• Ensure that all persons who have touched the mail piece wash their hands with soap and water.
• The Inspectors will collect the mail, assess the threat situation and coordinate with the FBI.
• Designated officials will notify local, county, and state health departments.
• Designated officials will notify the state emergency manager.
• List all persons who have touched the letter and/or envelope. Include contact information. Provide the list to the Inspection Service.
• Place all items worn when in contact with the suspected mail piece in plastic bags and keep them wherever you change your clothes and have them available for law enforcement agents.
• As soon as practical, shower with soap and water.
• If prescribed medication by medical personnel, take it until otherwise instructed or it runs out.
• Notify the Center for Disease Control Emergency Response at 770-488-7100 for answers to any questions.

What constitutes a “suspicious parcel?”

Some typical characteristics Postal Inspectors have detected over the years, which ought to trigger suspicion, include parcels that:

• Are unexpected or from someone unfamiliar to you.
• Are addressed to someone no longer with your organization or are otherwise outdated.
• Have no return address, or have one that can't be verified as legitimate.
• Are of unusual weight, given their size, or are lopsided or oddly shaped.
• Are marked with restrictive endorsements, such as “Personal” or “Confidential.”
• Have protruding wires, strange odors or stains.
• Show a city or state in the postmark that doesn't match the return address.

What should I do if I've received a suspicious parcel in the mail?

• Do not try to open the parcel!
• Isolate the parcel.
• Evacuate the immediate area.
• Call a Postal Inspector to report that you've received a parcel in the mail

How to Handle Anthrax and Other Biological Agent Threats

This is an Official CDC Health Advisory

Many facilities in communities around the country have received anthrax threat letters. Most were empty envelopes; some have contained powdery substances. The purpose of these guidelines is to recommend procedures for handling such incidents.

Do Not Panic

1. Anthrax organisms can cause infection in the skin, gastrointestinal system, or the lungs. To do, so the organism must be rubbed into abraded skin, swallowed, or inhaled as a fine, aerosolized mist. Disease can be prevented after exposure to the anthrax spores by early treatment with the appropriate antibiotics. Anthrax is not spread from one person to another person.
2. For anthrax to be effective as a covert agent, it must be aerosolized into very small particles. This is difficult to do, and requires a great deal of technical skill and special equipment. If these small particles are inhaled, life-threatening lung infection can occur, but prompt recognition and treatment are effective.

Suspicious Unopened Letter or Package Marked with Threatening Message such as “Anthrax”

1. Do not shake or empty the contents of any suspicious envelope or package.
2. Place the envelope or package in a plastic bag or some other type of container to prevent leakage of contents.
3. If you do not have any container, then cover the envelope or package with anything (e.g., clothing, paper, trash can, etc.) and do not remove this cover.
4. Then leave the room and close the door, or section off the area to prevent others from entering (i.e., keep others away).
5. Wash your hands with soap and water to prevent spreading any powder to your face.
6. What to do next…
   
   • If you are at home, then report the incident to local police.
   • If you are at work, then report the incident to local police, and notify your building security official or an available supervisor.
7. List all people who were in the room or area when this suspicious letter or package was recognized. Give this list to both the local public health authorities and law enforcement officials for follow-up investigations and advice.

Envelope with Powder and Powder Spills out onto Surface

1. Do not try to clean up the powder. Cover the spilled contents immediately with anything (e.g., clothing, paper, trash can, etc.) and do not remove this cover!
2. Then leave the room and close the door, or section off the area to prevent others from entering (i.e., keep others away).
3. Wash your hands with soap and water to prevent spreading any powder to your face.
4. What to do next…
   • If you are at home, then report the incident to local police.
   • If you are at work, then report the incident to local police, and notify your building security official or an available supervisor.
5. Remove heavily contaminated clothing as soon as possible and place in a plastic bag, or some other container that can be sealed. This clothing bag should be given to the emergency responders for proper handling.
6. Shower with soap and water as soon as possible. Do Not Use Bleach Or Other Disinfectant On Your Skin.
7. If possible, list all people who were in the room or area, especially those who had actual contact with the powder. Give this list to both the local public health authorities so that proper instructions can be given for medical follow-up, and to law enforcement officials for further investigation.

Question of Room Contamination by Aerosolization

For example: small device triggered, warning that air handling system is contaminated, or warning that a biological agent released in a public space.

1. Turn off local fans or ventilation units in the area.
2. Leave area immediately.
3. Close the door, or section off the area to prevent others from entering (i.e., keep others away).
4. What to do next…
   • If you are at home, then dial “911” to report the incident to local police and the local FBI field office.
   • If you are at work, then dial “911” to report the incident to local police and the local FBI field office, and notify your building security official or an available supervisor.
5. Shut down air handling system in the building, if possible.
6. If possible, list all people who were in the room or area. Give this list to both the local public health authorities so that proper instructions can be given for medical follow-up, and to law enforcement officials for further investigation.

How to Identify Suspicious Packages and Letters

Some characteristics of suspicious packages and letters include the following…

• Excessive postage
• Handwritten or poorly typed addresses
• Incorrect titles
• Title, but no name
• Misspellings of common words
• Oily stains, discolorations or odor
• No return address
• Excessive weight
• Lopsided or uneven envelope
• Protruding wires or aluminum foil
• Excessive security material such as masking tape, string, etc.
• Visual distractions
• Ticking sound
• Marked with restrictive endorsements, such as “Personal” or “Confidential”
• Shows a city or state in the postmark that does not match the return address

Mail Handling Information For State of California Employees

From: Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

Many people have questions about how mailrooms and offices should handle mail that may contain a written threat of chemical or biological material inside, or mail that may contain some form of powder.

Following are common sense steps to take in workplaces. They have been developed jointly by health professionals, the FBI, and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

The risk of contracting any disease from an envelope is extremely low. General awareness of one's surroundings and suspicious mail is appropriate.

General precautions for those who handle large volumes of mail:

• Wash your hands with warm soap and water before and after handling the mail.
• Do not eat, drink or smoke around mail.
• If you have open cuts or skin lesions on your hands, disposable latex gloves may be appropriate.
• Surgical masks, eye protection or gowns are not necessary or recommended.

If a letter is received that contains powder or contains a written threat:

1. Do not shake or empty the envelope.
2. Isolate the specific area of the workplace so that no one disturbs the item.
3. Evacuation of the entire workplace is not necessary at this point.
4. Have someone call 911 and tell them what you received, and what you have done with it. (Law Enforcement should also place a call to the local office of the FBI and tell them the same information.) Indicate whether the envelope contains any visible powder or if powder was released.
5. Wash your hands with warm water and soap for one minute.
6. Do not allow anyone to leave the office that might have touched the envelope.
7. When emergency responders arrive, they will provide further instructions on what to do.

Important:

• Do not panic.
• Do not walk around with the letter or shake it.
• Do not merely discard the letter.

For more information contact:

California Joint Information Center
(916) 262-1832