Is the UK post ready for anthrax?

Facing up to the anthrax scare

The US Postal Service has been severely tested by the anthrax crisis. Is the UK's mail system better prepared should the perpetrators turn their attentions to British targets?

Click here for advice for those receiving suspicious mail

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds," goes the unofficial motto of the US Postal Service (USPS).

The UK postal service is ready for the biological threat

However, it has been microscopic spores rather than the elements which have put the maxim the mail "must get through" to its greatest test.

Despite the posting of letters contaminated with anthrax to addresses across the nation and a warning from the US postmaster general that there can be no guarantee that post is safe, the USPS has vowed to keep to its task of delivering almost half the world's total volume of mail.

However, former postal inspector Tony Muljat (one of those who tracked "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski) is sceptical of this claim that the system can continue to operate.

"If mail continues to be found with anthrax, it's going to be curtailed and it's not going to be delivered," he said, citing the USPS's inexperience at screening hazardous materials.

USPS anthrax precautions

Irradiation machines to kill spores in mail

Plastic gloves to protect sorters

Masks to filter "95% all microbes in the air"

Vacuum cleaning of sorting machines

In comparison Consignia, formerly known as the Post Office and the USPS's counterpart in the UK, says it is more than prepared for such a test.

A company spokeswoman told BBC News Online that the decades UK postal workers have spent intercepting letter bombs means Consignia is already "geared" to meet the threat of hazardous mail.

Bitter experience

International security expert James Wyllie agrees that the "campaign waged on and off for 30 years by the IRA" has undoubtedly honed the handling procedures.

"If any postal service in the world is up to the mark, it should be the one in Britain. I'd be shocked and horrified if there were not procedures in place to meet such threats."

Postal services around the world fear anthrax attacks

Until the Oklahoma bombing, the United States was "surprisingly" spared the attentions of terrorists, says Mr Wyllie. "It's not strange that the US Postal Service is now having difficulties."

While the UK has become used to the activities of terror organisations and militant animal rights groups, the US has not seen truly widespread letter bombing campaigns.

Hoax

"There was the Unabomber, but he hardly matched the level of threat posed by an organised terrorist network."

Violent anti-abortion groups have offered the USPS limited practice in meeting biological threats. However, between 1998 and 2000 all of the 80 letters mailed to abortion clinics warning the recipient of "anthrax exposure" proved to be hoaxes.

UK sorting office workers are aware of the dangers

Meanwhile in the UK, Maurice Parsons, a former senior Metropolitan Police officer, says the real and constant threat of hazardous mail has generated a culture of "continuous improvement" in Consignia.

"They have always been very aware and taken every step possible. Every new incident of suspect mail at a sorting office is always followed by a review of security procedures."

Mr Parsons says Consignia's greatest security asset is the preparedness of its employees.

"You can never rely solely on procedures to ensure security, it's the mindset of those involved that is key. I'd say postal workers in this country are more ready and aware than perhaps anyone else."

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Consignia's advice to those who receive a suspicious package:

• Do not handle the item unnecessarily and do not open
• Do not sniff the item or get too close
• Do not move the package or clean up any spillage yourself
• Report the nature of the incident so appropriate emergency procedure can begin
• Vacate the immediate area and, if possible, cordon it off
• In the event of a spillage, report the names and contact details of all persons who touched the item

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