Understanding – and minimizing – today’s prevalent CBRNE threats // by Matthew Sweatt

every piece of mail for every kind of contaminant?

The answer is a definitive no. Companies need to take a more proactive approach in the protection of their facilities. When accessing mail stream vulnerability, they also have to consider the protection of their infrastructure as well as CBRNE threat defense. If the building itself is unsecured, there is no point in having a secure mail stream.

Protecting business operations

Protecting any company’s facilities and mail stream all starts with highly trained personnel. Having educated individuals aware of the dangers that may arise is far more valuable than any piece of equipment a company may utilize to mitigate risk. Other safe facility practices include:

—Continuous emergency response training

—Conducting infrastructure and risk assessments

—Developing emergency response plans

—Detailed standard operating procedures (SOP’s)

—Preventing access to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) intakes

—Attempting to isolate the HVAC on mail rooms with an emergency shut off

—Preventing public access to roof, stairways, and mechanical areas

—Utilizing surveillance equipment

—Key card access

—Simulating CBRNE events and response

Also, companies need to assess their own risk. Organizational characteristics commonly associated with high levels of vulnerability include the following:

—International firms

—Government related

—Frequently in the news

—Financial institutions

—Involved in something unpopular to some (animal testing, oil, military support)

Locking out threats: Effective mail room strategies

The most important practice to secure the organization’s mail is to combine a design and mail strategy with a proper training structure. This could include using automation solutions such as scanning; isolating mail streams from facilities; wearing special protective equipment; using modular containment, high efficient vacuums with charcoal and High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter; and initiating laboratory analysis.

Corporations and government facilities must assess the impact that a hoax threat or actual contaminant would have on their facility. It actually costs more to remediate a building after being contaminated by anthrax than it would be to level and rebuild the structure. It may be in the best interest of companies to have their mail processed off-site by professionals, as the cost of this work is inconsequential considering lost labor hours or remediation if contamination occurred. Other key practices which should be integral to any safe mail policy should include:

—CBRNE detection equipment

o X-ray machines

o Radiation detectors

o Chemical/Biological sniffers

—Digitalization

o Scanning and electronic delivery of mail

o Photographs of unexpected packages

—Modular Containment

o Isolation of mail flows

o Easily decontaminated

—Emergency response planning

—Disaster recovery planning

Businesses today have a myriad of choices when it comes to mailroom, infrastructure, and personnel protection. It all depends on what a business feels is adequate, and what they are willing to spend. Yet in this time of escalating CBRNE awareness, businesses should be prepared if the unthinkable were to happen