It's Not Only Size That Matters

DeAnne Toto

As this issue of Storage & Destruction Business was wrapping up production, news of the settlement that Iron Mountain and Shred-it reached in a whistle-blower lawsuit was being released.

Under the terms of the settlement, the companies will pay $1.1 million for allegedly defrauding the federal government. However, Shred-it and Iron Mountain have admitted no wrongdoing as a result of the settlement.

The alleged fraud arises from particle size discrepancies relative to federal government contracts specified by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). The GSA specifies that shredders used for such services should be capable of producing a particle size no larger than 1/32 inch in width with a 1/64-inch tolerance by 0.5 inches in length. (For more information on the settlement and the related lawsuit, please see www.sdbmagazine.com/lawsuit-defraud-shred-documents-iron-mountain.aspx.)

However, in a press release issued after the settlement was announced, the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) points out that particle size is just one factor that determines the security of document destruction services.

While it’s important to adhere to the specifications of a contract when taking on a job, for those professionals working in the information destruction field, particularly those who pursue NAID AAA Certification and Certified Secure Destruction Specialist accreditation, security goes well beyond the particle size of the documents being destroyed.

Many organizations use vendors to provide document destruction services, NAID says. These companies presently outsource these services to commercial destruction companies that use large industrial shredders and commingle material from hundreds of clients prior to recycling the paper. This process is more secure, the trade association argues, despite a larger particle size.

As NAID CEO Bob Johnson said in a press release issued shortly after the settlement was announced, information destruction professionals have a higher obligation to fulfill than a narrow shred size specification, which NAID says was created when paper was shredded in the office and discarded.

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This obligation encompasses knowledge of data protection legislation, physical security (including access control and employee screening as well as insurance coverage) and risk management.

The challenge, as many in the industry can attest, is conveying the importance of all these additional factors to customers who are often looking for the lowest-cost option or at easily defined criteria, such as particle size, to determine their document destruction service provider.