Medicine Delivery in Cities After Potential Terrorist Attack

From the Nuclear Threat Initiative website Monday, February 7, 2005 issue.

Experts Question Federal Initiative for Medicine Delivery in Cities After Potential Terrorist Attack

The Bush administration is pressing 21 U.S. cities to develop plans for door-do-door delivery of medicines in case of a terrorist attack using weapons of mass destruction, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, May 21, 2004).

The $27 million Cities Readiness Initiative, an eight-month pilot program announced by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department in May 2004, designated $12 million for the U.S. Postal Service to recruit and train volunteer carriers to deliver drugs from the strategic national stockpile following a possible WMD event.

The initiative partly arises from fears of an anthrax attack, said William Raub, a Health and Human Services emergency preparedness official.

“There are chemicals of a very similar nature sprayed over entire national forests to kill gypsy moths,” he said. “We now realize that an outdoor anthrax release over a city would not be difficult at all.”
New York and 10 other cities have expressed interest in the postal worker plan, according to the Times, but city officials and U.S. Postal Service representatives are still discussing details of such an effort.

“Postal carriers signed up to carry the mail in times of rain, sleet or snow, not anthrax,” said David Heyman, a bioterrorism specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “If there are questions of whether medical personnel would even show up to work under such conditions, it’s certainly not clear that postal carriers would.”

Studies conducted by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University predict that about 35 percent of New York hospital employees would stay away from work following a biological or radiological attack.

Concerns about home delivery include possible theft of medicine from mailboxes and whether people would even be there when the drugs arrived, the Times reported.

“Estimates indicate that about a third of the population would follow orders if told to shelter in place, a third would head for the hills, and a third would hang around to help mobilize relief efforts,” said Stephen Prior, the director of the National Security Health Policy Center at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. “But these are the types of variables that we have to start figuring out”

(Ian Urbina, New York Times, Feb. 7).

UPS: Valentine's Day Rush in Full Bloom

Valentine's Day Rush in Full Bloom for UPS
Press Release

Valentine's Day Rush in Full Bloom for UPSATLANTA, GA, Feb., 5, 2003 - UPS, the world's largest global transportation company, is now in the midst of its annual peak flower delivery period as Valentine's Day draws closer. By Feb. 14, UPS expects to transport approximately seven million pounds of flowers, worth an estimated $45 million.

"UPS carries almost 10,000 boxes of flowers a day from Latin America. During the Valentine's Day season this increases 25 percent," said Tom O'Malley, vice president, UPS Air Cargo, Latin America. "Not only do we face the challenge of delivering a huge amount of cargo, we also must ensure that the flowers arrive in the United States less than 24 hours after they were picked to ensure they stay fresh."

According to the Society of American Florists, 70 percent of cut flowers sold in the United States are imported with the vast majority coming from Latin America. Eighty-five percent of those flowers come through Miami/Dade County International Airport where UPS is the largest air cargo carrier.

The path of a flower from farm to beloved can cover great distances and each step must be carefully synchronized to ensure the delicate cargo stays in top shape. Once UPS receives the cut flowers, they are loaded onto temperature-controlled aircraft where they are kept between 34 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. After the flowers arrive in Miami, the company works with U.S. Customs officials to ensure Valentine's Day roses quickly clear inspections. The flowers are kept cool the entire time in UPS's refrigerated warehouses.

After the flowers pass inspections, UPS sorts them according to their final destinations. The company ships them to countries like Japan and Germany, to U.S. florists, and to the homes of loved ones across the United States.

For UPS customer and flower importer Associated Farms, the success of the Valentine's Day season is key to the company's year-round business.

"Valentine's Day is important to our customers, so on-time delivery is critical," said Hilda Varela, vice president of Miami-based Associated Farms. "If we don't take care of our customers for Valentine's Day, then they won't take care of us for the rest of the year. Fortunately, we picked the right transportation partner in UPS, and we know we can rely on them to make our customers happy."

Here are some other interesting Valentine's Day flower facts from the Society of American Florists (visit www.aboutflowers.com for more information):

60 percent of men say they would like to receive flowers on Valentine's Day
Women buy 38 percent of all floral products sold for Valentine's Day
30 percent of men wait until Valentine's Day to purchase flowers
The rose is the state flower of New York
62 percent of women prefer colored roses other than red
More than 130 million roses are typically sold for Valentine's Day
Women are more likely to buy flowers for their mother than any other friend or relative


UPS is the world's largest global transportation company, offering the most extensive range of e-commerce and supply chain solutions for the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS) and the company can be found on the Web at www.ups.com.