The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was ordered in late December to reexamine the precautions being taken against the potential for attacks on airplanes using chemicals and other threats after disclosures made by a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) whistleblower.
The whistleblower, Robert MacLean, revealed the TSA had failed to ensure air marshals and flight crews on every flight would pack NARCAN, an antidote for carfentanil (a chemical that can cause fatal illness).
These antidote kits are regularly used by local law enforcement agencies. TSA has not mandated the use of such equipment, but carfentanil is considered to be one of the greatest potential vulnerabilities for airplane safety, considering how easy it can be to conceal when getting onto an airplane and then disperse. The chemical is 100 times more deadly than fentanyl, one of the main chemicals at issue in the widespread opioid crisis that has gripped America.
MacLean also provided information revealing that the TSA does not inspect food trucks at airports if those trucks are run in accordance with religious beliefs. This was a practice characterized by MacLean as an “unwritten rule.” He says the agency refused to take corrective action when alerted to the problem.
MacLean has served as a whistleblower at other times in the past. On four occasions, he has provided the federal government with information that has helped to prevent significant security vulnerabilities in aviation that could result in terrorist attacks.
For more information on the steps you should take if you are aware of wrongdoing by your employer, contact an experienced whistleblower attorney with Kardell Law Group.
