The U.S. Postal Service plans next year to install new ventilation and filtration systems (VFS) in mail processing and distribution centers across the country to reduce the threat of exposure to deadly biological agents in the mail.
The equipment, valued at about $124.9 million, will be installed in more than 280 mail processing and distribution centers nationwide.
These installations are in response to the anthrax attacks the fall of 2001 that killed several people including postal workers and created a nationwide panic.
Specifically, the equipment will be installed above operations performed by the equipment that cancels stamped letter mail–and also above each facility’s network of machines that handle and prepare loose mail for cancellation.
During mail processing, VFS equipment will automatically and continuously vacuum air from the machinery through a series of filters that capture and reportedly contain at least 99.97% of all dust and potential contaminants.
Implementation begins next March.
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