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

a regular basis by the Postal Service. This means that with 20 zip codes out of approximately 48,000 zip codes in America, the USPS is irradiating only about 0.0004 percent of mail delivered annually.

The myths of irradiation killing all threats have made individuals complacent about their level of protection, and have put them at risk. The recent discovery of ricin in a Las Vegas motel room has proven the fact that dangerous threats still exist, and preparation must be made to protect government, corporate and civilian property and life.

Mail stream vulnerability

The mail stream is extremely vulnerable to CBRNE attacks for many reasons. More than 500 billion pieces of mail are delivered annually in America between the USPS and commercial carriers. It is impossible for a facility to detect all types of threats that could exist. Furthermore, anybody can send individuals or their businesses mail anomalously.

Since 2001, more than 20,000 post office closings have been attributed to powder threats — a number that does not take in account the plethora of business days, and costs, lost to similar threats.

Also, since 2004, more than 40,000 white powder hoaxes have been investigated, with the massive results often not fully recognized. Thousands of businesses were shut down, and many employees were left with heavy psychological damage. Owing to its frequency — and scope — it is impossible to calculate the lost revenue of businesses due to CBRNE hoax threats.

Just because people may not hear about things happening does not mean they are. Remember, 40,000 hoaxes are being investigated yet many more incidents are not reported. Most organizations do not report incidents; in fact, many do everything they can to ensure sure that information is not leaked, for fear of negative public perception or alarm.

I have done numerous CBRNE risk assessments. I have seen anthrax and ricin, and I have watched people take contaminated mail and walk it around a building. In speaking to companies, they always tell me that they are not adequately prepared. Mail stream vulnerability is not a new thing; mail was used as a weapon far before 2001, the Unabomber is an example that dates back to the late 1970s. Everyone always asks how to stop attacks from happening, and the answer is that you can not stop them from happening; you can only be prepared when they do. Is it even possible to search