HSNW conversation with Mark V. MichelMitigating mail-borne threats
Mark V. Michel, the U.S and Canada business development manager of PowderSafe, a firm which specializes in developing mail processing security systems, recently spoke with Homeland Security NewsWire’s executive editor Eugene K. Chow; in the interview, Michel discusses the continued threats from mail-born substances, why even a hoax letter can still be damaging, and methods to mitigate the threat
Homeland Security NewsWire: Other than the high-profile 2001 anthrax letter attacks and the 2003 ricin letter attacks, there seems to have been few instances of malicious actors using the post office to carry out biological or chemical attacks. Is this threat still prevalent? That is to say, is there any indication that malicious actors or terrorist groups are still seeking to mail dangerous substances in letters?
Mark V. Michel: The anthrax attacks of 2001 placed a level of fear into the community that continues. The adaptation of an everyday item into a weapon capable of causing death, injury, and disruption has placed an understandable level of fear into the community. The threat is very prevalent with incidents displayed in the media on a near daily basis. Many more incidents remain unreported which we know from our client base.
The use of harmful substances in envelopes still continues and although for very good reasons there is a strong emphasis on Anthrax and to a lesser extent Ricin folks need to understand there are also a significant number of extremely toxic chemicals that can be placed into an envelope.
This threat will not go away as it is too simple to create the weapon and the perpetrator uses a third party carrier to deliver the weapon to the intended target. Just because the substance is not toxic does not mean the incident was harmless as is often stated. By the time the substance is confirmed as non-toxic the damage has been done.
HSNW: Many of the more recent letter-based attacks have turned out to be hoaxes, is there a way to screen for these fake substances to limit the panic caused by such events?
MM: No. Technology improves every day but the sheer number of harmful substances that can be used creates a nightmare in terms of analysis. At the time of discovery the nature of the substance is unknown and it may take an hour or more to establish that the substance discovered is not toxic.
The most important aspect is the initial containment of the envelope and unknown substance at the point of discovery to minimize the potential spread of the substance and limit the incident to as small an area as possible.
HSNW: What measures have been put in place following the 2001 anthrax attacks to prevent similar incidents from occurring?
MM: There have been a range of measures introduced by some organizations large and small who have
