Post office installs anthrax-detecting system

The U.S. Postal Service has installed an early warning system at Springfield’s Processing and Distribution Center, 500 W. Chestnut Expressway, to detect the powder-like bacteria. The system is being installed at post office branches nationwide.

The Biohazard Detection System is automated and collects samples of air as mail is passed through the equipment. Any airborne particles are injected into a water base where a DNA test is performed. If anthrax bacteria are detected, management is notified immediately and mail operations are put on hold.

The U.S. Postal Service saw a number of anthrax-related incidents in 2001, including the deaths of two employees at a New Jersey facility. USPS spokesman Richard Watkins said the detection system came in response to the anthrax threat.

“This was a nationwide rollout that started about two years ago, and we wanted something that wouldn’t include an additional step in the mail processing process,” he said. “This is not a perfect system to prevent terrorist attacks, but it is one of our lines of defense.”

Watkins said the change for employee and customer safety has been well received.

“This (threat) caught everybody off-guard three years ago, and now they feel a great deal more comfortable,” he said.

Anthrax is a disease caused by contact with the bacteria and can result in cold-like symptoms, skin infections or death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The system has yet to detect any anthrax locally or nationally.

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