| How
likely is it that someone would receive a harmful biological or
chemical substance in the mail?
The Postal Service delivers approximately 208 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or are otherwise outdated.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
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