The following is an example of what's obviously going on around the country and perhaps the world. I did a cursory look for public companies that are in the mailroom outsourcing and security business but it looks like this giant company Securitas based outside the US has eaten up subsidiaries around the world including Pinkerton and Brinks here which supply the type of mailroom and other security services companies will consider now.
contracostatimes.com
Published Saturday, October 13, 2001
Bay Area mailrooms skittish
* Media, corporations increase security for handling incoming letters and packages after East Coast anthrax infections
By Jessica Guynn and Ellen Lee
CONTRA COSTA TIMESS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As hazardous materials investigators scoured the NBC offices in New York and hundreds of newsroom employees lined up to be tested for anthrax exposure Friday, edgy news organizations and big corporations shored up mailroom security, in some cases shutting down mailroom operations and halting delivery.
After public officials disclosed Friday that a longtime personal assistant to NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw contracted anthrax after opening an envelope containing a suspicious white powder, anthrax scares led the newscasts and the lives of news and corporate executives.
In the Bay Area and around the country, newspapers, magazines, wire services, and television and radio stations handed out latex gloves or surgical masks to mailroom staffers, beefed up mail-screening procedures, tightened already stringent security measures and consulted with local, state and federal authorities. In e-mails and meetings, while attempting to ease spreading fears, they urged employees to be vigilant when opening packages and envelopes.
The Contra Costa Times shut down its mailroom and stopped delivering mail until the newspaper could consult with law enforcement authorities, review its mailroom security procedures and provide employees with gloves and other protective equipment.
Laurie Fox, director of human resources, said she anticipated the Times mailroom would reopen Monday. "We know of no specific threat ... but we need to be vigilant during these uncertain times," Fox said.
The San Jose Mercury News beefed up security in its building and on its grounds and provided employees with tips on recognizing and treating suspicious packages or envelopes.
KPIX, the CBS affiliate in San Francisco, moved its mailroom operations to a garage where security guards and mailroom staffers now sort through the mail, said Jerry Eaton, vice president and general manager. "We're holding our mail and not distributing it to make sure there is nothing suspicious in it," Eaton said. "We don't want to overreact to this, but our first obligation is to employees and their safety."
Craig Marrs, manager of KRON-TV, the local NBC affiliate, declined to reveal specific steps the station has taken but said security has "clearly been bolstered."
"This is part of being a publicly visible company," he said.
KGO-TV, the ABC affiliate in San Francisco, has supplied masks and gloves to mailroom personnel. "We are taking extra precautions," said David Metz, director of programming. "We have always had precautions in place for other potential problems, but this is obviously a different kind of ballgame that requires we take different kinds of steps to protect our employees and the people who come into this building."
Journalists admitted cases of the jitters. "I am personally freaked out," said one San Francisco Chronicle reporter.
In addition, the potential exposure to major corporations of all kinds became clear Friday when Nevada state health officials who analyzed a suspicious letter received by Microsoft offices Friday said its contents "had tested presumptively positive for anthrax."
And late Friday, authorities evacuated hundreds of workers from the Pleasanton offices of Providian Financial after a suspicious substance was found in the company's mail.
Corporations across the country tightened mailroom security. Micron Technology Inc., the biggest U.S. maker of computer memory chips, added new screening measures at plants and headquarters in Boise, Idaho.
"Extra precautions are being taken because of concern for any unknown substances," spokesman Sean Mahoney said.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Pleasanton-based PeopleSoft Inc. increased mailroom security. "We have stepped up procedures to analyze packaging, to analyze what's coming in and knowing the source of it," said PeopleSoft spokesman Steve Swasey.
Bill Besse, director of global consulting services for security firm IPSA International in Dallas, said the biological threat had rattled corporate America. Demand for his firm's risk assessment expertise has picked up dramatically since Sept. 11. He cautioned companies to determine how they might be most vulnerable and to take lasting steps to shore up security rather than relying on quick "Band-Aid" fixes.
"When our awareness is heightened, when we are at our most vigilant, that is not when extremists and terrorists will try to harm us," Besse said. "They are going to try to harm us when our backs are turned to them."
As the nation's fears of anthrax attacks spiked, so did the level of security at the U.S. Postal Service and the companies that deliver the bulk of the nation's packages. In post offices and sorting stations across the United States, managers were instructed Friday to hold mandatory safety meetings.
FedEx Corp. went on high alert. "Our eyes are open wider, our ears are open wider," said spokeswoman Jennifer McGowan. "Our security personnel are trained in detecting red flags and knowing what to look for."
Screening for biological agents remains a complicated and sometimes impossible task, however. "There is very limited detection technology, for instance, for powdery substances," said Pam Roberson, another FedEx spokeswoman. ]
While vigilance may ultimately subside if things stay stable for a while it will be hard to imagine media, business and government ever just shredding opening their mail again without thinking twice. I flew in and out of NY last week and I'm kind of glad of the timing with retaliation starting just as I completed my trip. I would be a bit more nervous until they get much better security and baggage screening in place which will take some time.
Marc |
