How vulnerable is your company to bio-terrorism? Assess, Plan, and Survive Just a few days after terrorists crashed hijacked planes into the World Trade Center, Robert Stevens began to feel ill. Stevens, a 63-year-old photo editor with tabloid publisher American Media Inc., in Boca Raton, Fl., cancelled his trip with his wife and checked into a hospital. He was dead by Oct. 5. Cause of death: anthrax contracted from a deliberately infected letter or package. Over the next few months, more people died of anthrax as a result of handling tainted mail. Anthrax-laced letters appeared at CBS and NBC offices in New York, and at the offices of Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., in Washington, DC. Postal Service employees were also infected and treated for anthrax infections. Already reeling from September 11th, the nation found itself in the grip of panic, as each letter and package suddenly became suspect. Federal authorities are still investigating who sent the letters and what their motivation for the biological attacks might have been. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rates individual risk from anthrax as extremely low - only about 17 cases reported per year between 1955 and 2001 including the spike caused by the post-Sept. 11 attack - anthrax or other biological attacks can have far-reaching and expensive consequences for businesses. Are you prepared? CLICK HERE for Assessment, Planning, and Survival guidelines to follow... American Media's headquarters was sealed for more than a year while the FBI and other federal authorities swarmed over the building searching for clues. In addition to the untimely death of a valued employee, it meant a costly long-term relocation for the publisher, loss of key employees who were too frightened to return to work, damage to the company's reputation and financial stability, and many other consequences. J.J. Sullivan Jr. MPA, CFE of San Carlos, Calif., an anti-terrorism security consultant and associate of Risk Analysis Group says that businesses must assess if they are at risk and take the appropriate precautions. "From the standpoint of those who did it, (the attack) was successful. Although there weren't a lot of deaths, it was very disruptive," Sullivan said. Sullivan also cautions against making assumptions about what kinds of businesses could be the target of biological attacks. Media organizations would not have been high on most risk managers' lists before Sept. 11. "It may not be mailings in New York and Washington, DC to media and government offices (next time); it might be an effort to contaminate the emergency rooms in hospitals. You just don't know which way they are going to go." R. Douglass Nunes, a security consultant and former postal inspector in San Francisco, cautions that as the war with Iraq continues, American businesses must acknowledge the growing risk of bioterrorism. Pre-crisis management is critical, and the first step is for businesses to assess their own worth as targets, he said. "It should be based on the demographics of the company, whether they are an international company, or in an area that might be vulnerable to more risk than another company," Nunes said. "If we're at war and you're an oil company, you are a greater risk than companies that make milk." To protect against bio-terror attacks that utilize mail or private carriers such as United Parcel Service or Federal Express, Nunes and Sullivan recommend plenty of advanced planning that includes a risk assessment audit of mailroom procedures. The audit should result in a written set of procedures that describe exactly what should be done if a suspicious letter or package is received, including the specific authorities in your area that should be called. The mailroom should be stocked with masks and gloves to protect employees who handle mail, and plenty of large plastic bags that can be used to isolate suspicious items. Nunes also recommends having procedures in place to trigger the shutdown of ventilation systems in the area if possible. "With the threats over the past year, some mail rooms are now being redesigned so they have a separate exhaust system and heating system so they can control these things more easily," says Nunes. Businesses should be thinking about more than anthrax, however. Other dangerous things that could be mailed include smallpox, bubonic plague, Ricin - even live animals. "Spiders and snakes have been sent in the mail. If somebody's holding a box and something moves inside, that can be kind of creepy," Nunes said. Because biohazards can sometimes come from unlikely sources such as disgruntled employees and customers, it is essential all departments be included in the risk assessment process and follow-up training. "If (Human Resources) identifies an employee who is disgruntled and has made threats, the mail room should know about that person. The people in the mail room should know that occurred and be looking for something unusual," Nunes said. Click here for Assessment, Planning, and Survival guidelines.