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South Florida Biohazard Meeting By Bob DelPrete, Former S. Region Safety Rep & Sandra Munoz, OWCP Rep/Steward Recently, the meeting introducing the new USPS Biohazard Detection System was conducted at the Miami GMF. The USPS plans on introducing four of these systems in Ft. Lauderdale in January of next year, and they will be utilized in 010 operations. The speakers at the meeting were Adam Yanckowitz, Emergency Management Consultant with EarthTech, Inc. and Jerry Shoib, USPS Industrial Engineer. This new system is really a combination of other systems. It samples air surrounding pinch or pressure points on the Advanced Facer Canceller System (AFCS) to determine if any samples will become airborne as it hits the pinch point on the machine, thus the reason for its location. This was demonstrated during the presentation. The analytical process takes about an hour, and after each hour of operation, the machine must be shut down for 30 minutes. If a positive hit takes place, notification is immediately sent out to USPS Headquarters, law enforcement officials, and emergency responders. For now the detection system is only geared to analyze anthrax, but it can be expanded to analyze other airborne substances in the future. The USPS has, and is in the process of training Postal Inspectors to become HAZMAT responders fully equipped with proper protective attire to clear buildings of personnel, and proceed to treat the areas as crime scenes so that the FBI can continue the investigation. Emergency Evacuation Plans are being reviewed in facilities with this equipment so that employees will evacuate away from the "010" operation in a quick and safe manner. There are 15 other sites across the country already using these systems and our Maintenance employees will receive training on these pieces of equipment, the nature of which is not fully known at this time. The speakers at the meeting insisted that lower and middle management will have it made very clear to them that they MUST evacuate everyone in the facility should a positive hit occur, and NOT just those in the immediate area. "Infected" mail will be tracked and they know that this could be problematic. We have the handouts to this presentation and will gladly share them with any member who requests them. |
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