The U.S. Postal Service has halted testing eight electron-beam devices designed to kill anthrax bacteria and other harmful biological agents in the mail in favor of two high-powered X-ray machines it feels can better detect the agents.
“We’re renegotiating our contract with the manufacturer so we can begin testing these new machines as soon as possible in the Washington, DC area,” said USPS spokesman Jerry Kreienkamp.
The USPS spent $40 million last fall to purchase the electron beam machines to screen government mail in Washington. But none of the eight had been installed because the machines can erase computer discs, make foods taste bitter and discolor envelopes.
The $40 million spent on the electron-beam machines will be applied to the costs of the X-ray machines, Kreienkamp said.
No decision has been made on where the new machines will be installed, he said.
Anthrax-laced letters killed five people last year out of 18 confirmed cases, including two Washington, D.C., postal workers and a Florida newspaper editor who opened one of the letters.
In other Postal Service news, Lockheed Martin has been chosen as contractor for a modernization program that will cost the USPS more than $300 million.
Under the pact, Lockheed martin will integrate and modernize the Postal Service’s package-processing capabilities through a new system called the Automated Package Processing System (APPS).
The upgrade is designed to advance the USPS’ competitive position in the parcel deliver market.
The contract requires Lockheed Martin to build and deploy 74 package-processing systems nationwide beginning in 2004.
The Postal Board of Governors must approve additional quantities beyond this initial agreement. If additional systems are authorized through 2006, more than 120 systems could be delivered, according to a Postal Service statement. The U.S. Postal Service has halted testing eight electron-beam devices designed to kill anthrax bacteria and other harmful biological agents in the mail in favor of two high-powered X-ray machines it feels can better detect the agents.
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