The university mail system is stepping up security after reviewing safety measures issued by the U.S. Postal Service in reaction to the ongoing anthrax scare.
The Campus Mail Center now provides its employees with latex gloves and breathing masks, although the precautions are not mandatory. The building is presently locked at all times; students are still allowed access, but must be admitted by one of the center's employees.
Mail delivery trucks must now be locked when left unattended, and delivery personnel are required to wear UB identification cards on their belts.
"I think a lot of the postal people are a little nervous," said Nadine Manzella, a customer assistance supervisor at the University Bookstore, which houses a satellite office of the U.S. Postal Service. "There's a heightened sensitivity. I don't think anyone is running scared, but people are aware of the seriousness of everything."
The University Bookstore, like all Western New York post offices, stopped selling postage-paid stamped envelopes last Thursday under orders from the central post office in Rochester. The initiative is designed to better assist investigators in tracking mail.
The university is in constant communication and working with the U.S. Postal Service. "They inform us of the bigger picture and let us know how we can fit into that," said Roger McGill, assistant vice president for campus services.
As a result, the Campus Mail Center and the University Bookstore both internally reviewed safeguards. The Campus Mail Center sponsored a presentation by occupational and environmental administrators reviewing safety guidelines and tightened security in their daily operations.
The University Bookstore administered re-training on "target mail," primarily packages weighing over one pound and traveling outside the United States, usually without a return address. In the event of receiving such mail, the bookstore flags it with a placard and segregates it from other mail. The suspect letter is still sent, but with special guidelines, and is not transported by airplane.
The bookstore has continued to follow basic precautionary measures used in the past, but is trying to educate people about the safety measures needed to ensure security throughout campus. "I want to remind students to have their return address on things," said Manzella. "Don't just stuff things on our counter because it's going to be treated as target mail."
Despite student rumors of an anthrax scare, the bookstore is currently not accepting outgoing packages because its postage meter is out of order. The meter, an electronic device that calculates precise postage costs, is out of commission because of a mix-up with checking funds, according to Manzella.
Reports of anthrax-laden letters circulating through the U.S. postal system have not deterred most students from using campus mail services.
"You can't stop using mail," said Jonathan Aldebot, a junior media studies major. "It's a part of everyday life. I have stuff waiting and stuff ready to be sent out. I'm not going to put things on hold."
At the national level, the U.S. Postal Service recently adopted tougher safety measures in all central East Coast processing facilities. The service began employing technology that uses irradiation in the form of electron beams to "sanitize" mail at selected sites.
The technology is also used in the medical field and in the food industry to combat outbreaks of E. coli. Irradiation destroys bacteria by altering its DNA.
The effort will cost billions of dollars and require congressional support. It is part of a long-term goal to use the technology in more facilities, according to Victor Muldisio, customer relations coordinator spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in Western New York.
The U.S. Postal Service has also changed cleaning procedures on all of their machines sorting mail, which collect dust when processing hundreds of thousands of letters daily. In the past, they would use vacuums and high-powered air machines to remove dust. Now, they employ vacuums only and clean many of the machines with anti-bacterial cleaning materials as part of routine maintenance.
Nevertheless, the U.S. Postal Service underscores the importance of educating the public as the most important step in fighting the anthrax scare.
"Knowledgeable employers and customers who marshal common sense is the biggest and most beneficial part of the safety plan," said Muldisio.
The U.S. Postal Service also says that the media hype of the anthrax scare is not proportional to the statistics. "To date there have been three documented cases of anthrax exposure out of some 30 billion pieces of mail sorted," said Muldisio. "Yes, anthrax could be sent in mail, but statistically it's extremely unlikely."
The service also pointed out that the infected letters were sent to high profile people in the media and say there is no evidence of any letters being sent to residential persons.
