THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Homeland Security officials are being warned not to toss secret documents that could compromise transportation security into the ordinary trash after hundreds of such papers marked “sensitive” reportedly were found in a city trash container near the Orlando International Airport in Florida.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) used its most recent newsletter to tell employees not to throw away outdated materials stamped as “Sensitive Security Information” (SSI).
“There have been recent news stories about a young person who went Dumpster diving near a major airport and found an airport binder that contained documents marked as [SSI]”, the newsletter said.
Employees are told to shred SSI documents in cross-cutting shredders, cut them manually into squares that measure no less than a half-inch or place them in trash bins specifically designated for SSI disposal.
“When in doubt — do not throw it out. If you are unsure whether a document contains SSI, err on the side of caution and use one of the disposal methods described above,” the newsletter said.
A TSA spokeswoman called the item a reminder to employees of how to adhere to existing policy — not a change in policy.
Robert Raffel, the airport’s senior director of public safety, resigned to take a teaching job at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the wake of the investigation by the Orlando Police Department. Mr. Raffel told the Orlando Sentinel, which broke the story in March, that his resignation was not related to the investigation.
“This person”s mother turned the documents over to the local newspaper — not the airport or TSA. Although the dumped material was marked SSI, a review by the SSI Office determined that the material did not contain SSI,” the newsletter said.
In early March, the unnamed teenager found “three-ring binders and an 11-inch-by-17-inch airport layout plan set in a trash dumpster,” according to an Orlando Police Department report, filed by Detective Jay Mack.
“The documents, part of an Orlando International Airport 20-year-growth master plan, were labeled ’Sensitive Security Information that should not be released without a need to know,’ ” the report said.
“A former deputy director of the State Department’s counterterrorism office called the master plan update an excellent document for terrorists planning an attack,” the report said.
The Orlando police investigation revealed that two out of 40 master plans issued were missing from storage, an engineering specialist was missing a copy from her set, and Mr. Raffel did not have his set.
The investigation did not conclude whether the teenager indeed found the binders in the trash container or to whom the set belonged. A federal aviation security official said the document could contain checkpoint locations and new gate configurations, bag-screening locations, guard posts, fence lines and access points to secure or sterile areas — all of which are considered SSI.
Mr. Raffel told Mr. Mack that officials “overreacted” by stamping the document “SSI,” although the engineering official kept her copies under lock and key.
“They were stamping everything [SSI],” the report said.
Mr. Raffel said he may have left behind the set of documents when he moved offices last year but maintains he did not throw the documents into the trash.
Mr. Raffel could not be reached for comment, but he told the Orlando Sentinel that he had been considering a career in academia after completing 32 years in the U.S. Army Reserve.
“We appreciate his contribution both to our country in his military duty and the aviation industry,” said Chris Schmidt, airport deputy executive director.
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