The Office of Compliance recently had its own brush with suspicious mail just as our safe mail handling guidelines were being published. In early July, the office received two items that displayed many of the classic signs of suspicious mail -- a foreign post mark, heavy taping, and poorly worded address lines.
Once Office of Compliance staff noted the items' suspicious appearance, the Library of Congress Police (the Office is located within a Library of Congress building) were alerted. The Library Police arrived on scene and quickly evacuated the immediate area. A hazardous materials team from the Capitol Police was called in, but it was determined that the letters were not a threat.
Although our staff were very quick to recognize the letters as suspicious, they did a few things that did not conform to recommended procedures. For example, once the items were identified, they should not have been moved or handled further, and if possible, covered up in some manner. Any fans or air handling equipment should have been promptly turned off to prevent the spread of any contaminants.
While our experience proved to be a false alarm, it serves as a reminder that all staff should be well schooled in best practices for handling suspicious mail and receive frequent refresher training as well. We, like everyone else, are learning how best to deal with the new security environment we find ourselves in. Take our story as yet another lesson that caution and vigilance is needed whenever handling mail on Capitol Hill. Most importantly, become familiar with safe mail handling procedures and always follow them.
Read below the first-hand accounts of the event from three of the Office of Compliance staffers involved:
"Around the second week in July, the mail arrived about 2:30 as always. I started the process of checking the mail when I noticed two pieces. Both were wrapped in excessive tape and had incomplete addresses and postmarks from another country. I showed them to Kisha [Harley], who called the police and then examined the items.
When the Police arrived, we showed them the items and then left the front office and closed the hall door. We waited in the back [office]. After about twenty minutes, we were given the all clear. The packages were just from a guy in England requesting a catalog."
-Marlo Kerrigan,
Receptionist, Office of Compliance
"When we noticed a suspicious package, the first thing I did was have the receptionist move the packages away from the rest of the mail. I then used some rubber gloves to move them [the suspicious packages] to a nearby conference room.
What stood out the most about these packages was their appearance and addressing. They were addressed to the ‘US Compliance, 100 Congress, Maryland, Virginia' -- in that order. They had British postage, and no return address."
-Kisha Harley,
Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director, Office of Compliance
"In early July, two similar envelopes with British postmarks and an incomplete address were delivered to the office. Both envelopes were heavily wrapped in masking tape. While the clipped corners on each envelope established that both had been irradiated, our mail handlers . . . determined that the contents of the envelopes might be suspicious.
The Library of Congress Police were contacted. They in turn contacted the Capitol Police unit responsible for investigating suspicious mail. The Police responded promptly, evacuated a portion of the office, and inspected the envelopes. Although the letters turned out to be safe, our experience should remind all mail handlers to be cautious when handling mail on Capitol Hill."
-Bill Thompson,
Executive Director, Office of Compliance
