Mail Security: Incidents at DOD Mail Facilities Exposed Problems That Require Further Actions
Abstract
Why GAO Did This Study. Highlights Accountability Integrity Reliability September 2006 MAIL SECURITY Incidents at DOD Mail Facilities Exposed Highlights of GAO-06-757, a report to the Problems That Require Further Actions Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate In March 2005, two well-publicized and nearly simultaneous incidents involving the suspicion of anthrax took place in the Washington, D.C., area. The incidents occurred at Department of Defense (DOD) mail facilities at the Pentagon and at a commercial office complex (Skyline Complex). While these incidents were false alarms, DOD and other federal and local agencies responded. The Postal Service suspended operations at two of its facilities and over a thousand DOD and Postal Service employees were given antibiotics as a precaution against their possible exposure to anthrax. This report describes (1) what occurred at the Pentagon and Skyline Complex mail facilities, (2) the problems we identified in detecting and responding to the incidents, (3) the actions taken by DOD that address the problems that occurred, and (4) the extent to which DOD's actions address the problems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- AD1156667
Entities
People
- Daniel Klabunde
- David Hooper
- Johanna Wong
- Josh Ormond
- Katherine A. Siggerud
- Kathleen Turner
- Stanley Stenersen
- Steve Martinez
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office