Download or read book U S Postal Service written by Mark L. Goldstein and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2004-12 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Sept. & Oct. 2001, at least 4 letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news media personnel & 2 U.S. Senators, leading to the first cases of bioterrorism-related anthrax in the U.S. Nine postal employees assoc. with 2 postal facilities that processed the letters -- Trenton, NJ & Brentwood, DC -- contracted anthrax. The USPS closed Trenton & Brentwood, but other contaminated postal facilities remained open. This report covers Trenton, Brentwood, & 3 of these other facilities. It describes: the factors considered in deciding whether to close the 5 facilities; the info. communicated to postal employees about health risk & the extent of the facilities' contam'n.; & how lessons learned from the response to the contam'n. could be used in future situations.
Download or read book U s Postal Service written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-10-20 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: U.S. Postal Service: Better Guidance Is Needed to Ensure an Appropriate Response to Anthrax Contamination
Download or read book U S Postal Service written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book U S Postal Service written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book U S Postal Service Better Guidance Is Needed to Ensure an Appropriate Response to Anthrax Contamination written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September and October 2001, at least four letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news media personnel and two U.S. Senators, leading to the first cases of bioterrorism-related anthrax in the United States. The contaminated letters, which were delivered through the U.S. mail system, caused 22 cases of anthrax, 5 of them fatal. Nine postal employees associated with two postal facilities that processed the letters -- Trenton in New Jersey and Brentwood in Washington, D.C. -- contracted anthrax and two Brentwood employees died. The U.S. Postal Service closed Trenton and Brentwood, but other contaminated postal facilities remained open. GAO's review covers Trenton, Brentwood, and three of these other facilities. As requested, this report describes the following: (1) the factors considered in deciding whether to close the five facilities, (2) the information communicated to postal employees about health risks and the extent of the facilities' contamination, and (3) how lessons learned from the response to the contamination could be used in future situations. GAO is making recommendations to help ensure that the Postal Service has comprehensive, clear, accurate, and up-to-date guidance for any future anthrax response. The Postal Service indicated that it had taken or would take action on GAO's recommendations.
Download or read book US Postal Service written by Bernard L. Ungar and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2003-08 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2001, letters contaminated with anthrax resulted in 23 cases of the disease, 5 deaths, and the contamination of numerous U.S. Postal Service facilities, including the Southern CT Processing and Dist. Center in Wallingford, CT. This report addresses whether: the Postal Service followed applicable guidelines and requirements for informing employees at the facility about the contamination; and lessons can be learned from the response to the facility's contamination. To help prevent a reoccurrence of communication problems, this report recommends that the Postal Service, OSHA, GSA, and the Nat. Response Team work together to revise their existing reg's. to require prompt communication of available test results, including quantitative results, to workers and others.
Download or read book Gao 04 239 U s Postal Service written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: GAO-04-239 U.S. Postal Service: Better Guidance Is Needed to Ensure an Appropriate Response to Anthrax Contamination
Download or read book U S Postal Service written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2001, letters contaminated with anthrax resulted in 23 cases of the disease, 5 deaths, and the contamination of numerous U.S. Postal Service facilities, including the Southern Connecticut Processing and Distribution Center in Wallingford, Connecticut (the Wallingford facility). GAO was asked to address, among other matters, whether (1) the Postal Service followed applicable guidelines and requirements for informing employees at the facility about the contamination and (2) lessons can be learned from the response to the facility's contamination. The Wallingford facility first tested positive for anthrax in early December 2001. The contamination was found in samples collected from four mail-sorting machines in November. Analyses of the samples produced quantified results, including about 3 million anthrax colonies, or living anthrax cells, in one of the samples. While this was far more than the amount needed to cause death, none of the employees at the facility became sick from the anthrax contamination. The Postal Service's decision not to inform workers about the number of anthrax colonies identified in December 2001 appears consistent with its guidelines because, according to the Service, it could not validate the results, as required. However, its subsequent decision not to release the results after an employee union requested all the facility's test results in January and February 2002, was not consistent with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) requirement for disclosing test results that are requested. An OSHA investigation resulted in the Service's release of the quantitative test results in September 2002--about 9 months after the results were first known. Although OSHA did not issue a regulatory citation, it expressed concern about communication deficiencies. In retrospect, the Service's decision not to release the quantitative test results in December 2001 was understandable given the challenging circumstances that existed at the time, the advice it received from public health officials, an ongoing criminal investigation, and uncertainties about the sampling methods used. However, numerous lessons can be learned from the experience, such as the need for more complete and timely information to workers to maintain trust and credibility and to help ensure that workers have essential information for making informed health decisions. Federal guidelines developed in 2002 by GSA and the National Response Team suggest that more--rather than less--information should be disclosed. However, neither the Service's guidelines nor the more recent federal guidelines fully address the communication-related issues that developed in Wallingford. For example, none of the guidelines specifically require the full disclosure of quantified test results. Likewise, OSHA's regulations do not require employers to disclose test results to workers unless requested, which assumes that workers are aware of the test results and know about this requirement.
Download or read book U S Postal Service written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02-05 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: U.S. Postal Service: Better Guidance Is Needed to Improve Communication Should Anthrax Contamination Occur in the Future
Download or read book U S Postal Service written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bioterror written by R. William Johnstone and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2008-09-30 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book uses the 2001 anthrax attacks as its point of departure for an analysis of the past, present, and future of America's preparedness to deal with major challenges to public health, including bioterrorism and pandemic flu. The study identified the strength and weaknesses of the system while making recommendations for improvements. This allows the U.S. to be better prepared if faced with a larger or different biological threat. This book looks for linkages not only between bioterrorists and pandemic defenses, but also between public health security and the wider field of homeland security. Johnstone highlights some key foundation plans and strategies that are to serve as a basis for public health security. Failure to address these crucial issues not only creates unfounded mandates but also inhibits priority setting, leadership, and accountablity. Bioterror: Anthrax, Influenza, and the Future of Public Health Security utilizes a large number of sources from within both the public health and public policy communities to document how each sector responded to the anthrax attacks and re-emergent infectious diseases, and how those responses have evolved to the present day, As with other areas of homeland security, sustained progress in public health security is not likely until basic questions about funding priorities and leadership are successfully addressed. In the response to the only mass casualty event in the United States since 2001, Hurricane Katrina, and in various emergency simulation exercises such as TOPOFF series, major performance deficiencies have been observed. This book brings together a variety of sources, the best available evidence on the status of the public health security system at three distinct points: before 2001; during and immediately after the anthrax attacks; and in the period from 2004 to the present.
Download or read book Anthrax detection agencies need to validate sampling activities in order to increase confidence in negative results written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2005 with total page 119 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September and October 2001, contaminated letters laced with Bacillus anthracis, or anthrax spores,1 were sent through the mail to two senators, Thomas Daschle and Patrick Leahy, and members of the media. The letters led to the first cases of anthrax disease related to bioterrorism in the United States. The postal facilities in New Jersey and Washington, D.C., that processed the senators letters became heavily contaminated Other mail routed through these facilities, as well as additional ones in the postal network, also became contaminated. Numerous federal facilities in the Washington, D.C., area the U.S. Supreme Court, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and main State Department buildings were also later found to be contaminated.
Download or read book Mail Security Incidents at DoD Mail Facilities Exposed Problems That Require Further Action written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Anthrax Detection written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book U S Postal Service better guidance is needed to improve communication should anthrax contamination occur in the future written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September and October 2001, at least four letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news media personnel and two U.S. Senators, leading to the first cases of bioterrorism-related anthrax in the United States. The contaminated letters, which were delivered through the U.S. mail system, caused 22 cases of anthrax, 5 of them fatal. Nine postal employees associated with two postal facilities that processed the letters -- Trenton in New Jersey and Brentwood in Washington, D.C. -- contracted anthrax and two Brentwood employees died. The U.S. Postal Service closed Trenton and Brentwood, but other contaminated postal facilities remained open. GAO's review covers Trenton, Brentwood, and three of these other facilities. As requested, this report describes the following: (1) the factors considered in deciding whether to close the five facilities, (2) the information communicated to postal employees about health risks and the extent of the facilities' contamination, and (3) how lessons learned from the response to the contamination could be used in future situations. GAO is making recommendations to help ensure that the Postal Service has comprehensive, clear, accurate, and up-to-date guidance for any future anthrax response. The Postal Service indicated that it had taken or would take action on GAO's recommendations.
Download or read book The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security written by Lois M. Davis and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2008-11-19 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States Postal Service has long held a statutory monopoly to deliver mail to mailboxes (known as the Mailbox Rule). Critics have argued against the Mailbox Rule on anti-monopoly and property rights grounds. But relaxing the Mailbox Rule may affect public safety and security. This study assesses the public safety concerns of relaxing the Mailbox Rule and makes recommendations to address these concerns.
Download or read book U S Postal Service Guidance on Suspicious Mail Needs Further Refinement written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In fall 2001, five persons died from inhalation anthrax contracted from contaminated letters delivered through the U.S. mail system. 1 After the anthrax attacks, the frequency of incidents involving suspicious packages or powder spills increased dramatically, due partly to anthrax hoaxes as well as concerns over leakages from mail that had previously been handled routinely. Since October 2001, over 16,000 such incidents have occurred at postal facilities. These incidents have posed a challenge to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as well as to law enforcement and public health agencies at all levels of government. The Postal Service has emphasized to its employees to be on the alert for suspicious mail that may pose a threat and has developed guidance for them on how to identify and respond to such mail, in order to protect them and the public from potential harm. Suspicious mail consists of envelopes or packages that have characteristics that indicate they may have dangerous contents, such as a bomb, a radiological substance, or a biological or chemical agent. 2 The Postal Service has made a commitment to continuously improve its processes related to anthrax and other biohazards, including its guidance for identifying and responding to suspicious mail.
