Top 10 Postal Screening FAQ's

Postal Screening

Over the last few years, I have worked with a wide variety of clients who have reached out to me to learn more about postal screening. Postal screening isn't for everyone however, for some organisations, the associated risk of receiving a mail-bourn threat, is a concern. There is a general agreement that risk rating for the likelihood of a postal attack are considered as low, but worryingly the potential impact of an attack as always catagorised as high.

Yes, you guessed it, for this reason, plenty of organisations that do experience postal attacks are relatively unprepared. Because they have been busy mitigating other mainstream risks that appear more pressing when they consult the risk matrix.

If you'd like your questions about X-Ray Postal screening equipment answered. This article aims to save you the hassle of trawling through technical specifications and gives you an answer to the top 10 most frequently asked questions. Whether you are a facilities manager or a security manager , this should help to shed light on the subject , if your thinking about X-Ray as a means of mitigating this type of threat.

In no particular order...

Q 1 – Can X-Ray Postal scanners detect powder threats ( white powder placed in an envelope to simulate anthrax or ricin, or worse still the real thing )

Yes, but not all scanners perform well when attempting to reveal powder deposits in envelopes. Most conveyor-type scanners ( like the type of scanner that you see in the airport ) are designed to scan baggage and have fairly powerful X-Ray generators on board designed to penetrate baggage. For this reason they often lack the delicate touch needed to be able to spot small amounts of low density material like powder. The PBTR15 Cabinet scanner, however, has a much smaller X-Ray generator and can pick up even small deposits of over 1 gram of powder. Powder detection is an extremely relevant feature as the powder threats are by a long stretch the most common type of postal threat.

Q 2 – Do you need to scan each piece of mail one-by-one or can you scan in bulk? My mailroom staff often don't have the time to scan mail as well as sort it.

You can scan mail in bulk, and most mailroom scanners have the power to penetrate a postal sack or postal crate. However, you will probably not be able to pick out the exact location of a threat inside a jumbled crate or sack. Most organisations that scan mail scan the whole sack, crate, or bundle before they rough sort, this way, they have at least mitigated some of the more obvious threat items that may be concealed, such as blades, needles or other solid items such as I.E.Ds or incendiaries. Bulk scanning takes seconds but will not reveal powder deposits unless they are quite large. Initial scanning can be completed in no time at all , but secondary scanning of suspect items can take longer. The intensity of your scanning regime , should be discussed with your security team as some threats are not visible when scanning in bulk.

Q 3 – How do I ensure that my staff are trained to use the scanners?

Many organisations make the mistake of purchasing X-Ray equipment and not considering how to ensure the staff using it are adequately trained. Staff will not only need to know how to use the equipment but also have to interpret the images. It's also important that operators know the difference between items that are safe and items that are dangerous or contraband.

Pitney Bowes has all of this covered and provides both face-to-face and e-learning courses to ensure that staff are confident and competent.

Q4 – How much room in my postroom do I need for an X-Ray scanner?

Cabinet-style X-Ray scanners like the PBTR15 cabinet scanner are roughly the size of an office filing cabinet and have a relatively small footprint. However, if you opt for a conveyor-type scanner, you would need to allow for the footprint of the scanner ( usually around 1m x 1.5m for a 60/40 tunnel ratio unit ). You should also allow for rollers on each end to help with loading and unloading as the mail comes out of the inspection tunnel. Rollers help to reduce the manpower needed as without them, your operator would need to dart from one end of the machine ( when they load it ) to the other end when the parcel comes out.

Q5 – Are X-Ray scanners safe to use? Is it true that they produce radiation?

Providing that your operators follow safety recommendations using the equipment, they are relatively safe to use. X-Ray machines have lots of lead shielding in place which protects the operators from the X-Rays. It's important to ensure that you have a maintenance contract in place when you have X-Ray scanners, not only to ensure that your machine is working at optimum levels but also to ensure that the shielding is doing its job. X-Ray engineers will check the outer surface of the units and ensure that no radiation leakage occurs. You should have maintenance cover in place, even if the unit is an older model and no longer covered under warranty.

Q5 – Do I need to inform my Health and Safety team if I'm planning to purchase X-Ray equipment?

If you are looking to purchase X-Ray equipment, you should work with your H&S team to ensure that the unit is compliant with IRR17 regulations. Your H&S team will need to employ the help of an external advisor who will help with risk assessment and other compliance-related requirements associated with IRR17 regulations. ( Ionising Radiation Regulations ) . This constitutes a piece of work for your H&S team and it's best to get them on board from the onset. They won't appreciate it if you buy the unit and then drop it onto them.

Q6 – What are the other threats you might expect to be detected using an X-Ray Scanner?

X-Ray scanners will give you an excellent view of anything solid that is concealed within a parcel or package. This includes Explosive devices, Incendiary devices ( designed to burn or flare up), sharps, weapons, low-tech spring-loaded threats such as mouse traps, biological threats, powders, and human substances such as faecal matter. More recently X-Ray has been used to mitigate the threat from physical cyber hacking devices sent in parcels. "warshipping devices" are comprised of IT components that are designed to latch onto and hack your network via Wi-Fi.

Q7 – Is it possible to share images the X-Ray Scanners produce? My postroom staff sometimes require a second pair of eyes, when they spot suspect items on the scanner. It makes sense to be able to view scans remotely rather than going to the postroom to view something that might be dangerous.

Not all scanners have the ability to share images. Some have USB slots that will enable the operator to download the suspect image and view it in a remote location. This method is fraught with problems in reality as when scans or dangerous items come up on the screen, operators often find the prospect of saving the image to a USB before leaving the site unrealistic.?The PBTR15 scanner however does allow the operator to send images by email with one or two clicks. This does require the unit to be connected to a network, but offers a more realistic option, in stress situations. The PBTR15 scanner also integrates with the Critical Event Communication platform Callmy, which can transmit the scanned image to responders in the form of a critical alert, bypassing device silent functions and other device settings.

Q8 – is there any relevant government guidance, standards or specifications related to postal screening?

UK Government guidance PAS97 offers comprehensive advice on a wide range of aspects associated with postal screening. This includes postal scanning room design, and advice on effective scanning. You should consider this especially ?if you are looking after a site that sits within critical national infrastructure .

The National Protective Security Authority ( previously CPNI ) also has some good resources under the heading of "mail screening matters". This includes some basic information and advice and downloadable content.

The HSE also offer advice around IRR17 compliance as well as hosting some of the web locations you will need for registration of your unit.?

Q9 – Who should consider Postal screening?

It's a good idea to think about the type of attention your organisation attracts. UK Local and Central Government sites should have plans to mitigate and contingencies in place. Several high-profile industries can attract the wrong type of attention. Oil and Gas, Pharmaceuticals, Gambling and Gaming, Events, and more.

The second question you should ask is, what would be the impact if your site was attacked? Not just in terms of a bomb scare type evacuation, but also more importantly how your organisation would cope with a quarantine or lockdown scenario.?Typically powder-type attacks will result in a lockdown that could extend for hours, even if it is a hoax threat where inert powder is sent. To some organisations, this level of disruption can constitute a major issue from a "business continuity" perspective , let alone a very unpleasant experience for staff.

Q10 – I've heard that X-Ray Scanners can come with AI automation that automatically detects and flags threats. Is this true?

Yes, this is true. Many conveyor-type scanners have automatic detection capabilities. Some are harnessing AI technology to assist this. As standard, you can expect most conveyor-type scanners to be able to differentiate between materials passing through the scanner at an atomic level. This means that you can pinpoint organic materials or metallics and also filter certain types of materials of interest such as narcotics and explosives.?Many conveyor scanners also have shape recognition to assist in pinpointing typical threats that follow a pattern in terms of their shape, such as guns, knives and grenades. This technology is constantly being advanced and represents fertile ground for future development. Realistically you should think of this as a form of assistance for your operators rather than a replacement, however, as time progresses this technology will become much more refined and will do more and more of the work of the machine operator.

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If you have any other questions about postal screening, please do contact me. I'd be happy to help if I can.

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Hope you find this useful

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Martyn Stanley

Pitney Bowes – Secure Workspace Solutions?