Dealing with suspicious mail

Ken Johnston
Editor

While there have been no confirmed cases of anthrax attacks in Canada, Canada Post has indicated that its personnel are being extremely vigilant in watching for suspicious mail. They have also said that the public can help by watching for similar items arriving in their mail boxes.
While the anthrax micro-organism cannot be seen or detected other than by laboratory analysis, there are indicators that the public can look for.
Indicators
•Powdery substance visible on exterior
•No return address
•Restrictive markings
•Mailed from a foreign country
•Excessive postage
•Misspelled words
•Addressed to title only
•Rigid or bulky
•Badly typed or written
•Strange odour
•Protruding wires
•Excessive wrapping
•Oily stains on wrapping
•Lopsided
Who to call
If you have a suspicious package Canada Post recommends that you immediately contact the local authorities, such as the North Western Health Unit or the Ontario Provincial Police. Do not handle, shake or open the package and do not return it to Canada Post. Isolate the item and evacuate the immediate vicinity. Anyone who has handled the suspicious mail should wash their hands with soap and water.
“We urge everyone to exercise common sense at all times. Do not open a letter or parcel sent to you if it is not something you would normally expect or if there is something unusual about it,” said Canada Post last Wednesday.
It is important to note that in the most severe form of anthrax, Inhalation Anthrax, the particles of the bacteria must be the right size to become airborne and lodge in the lungs, instead of breathing them out. That would require advance technology to manufacture them.