GovernmentExecutive.com

The Postal Service next week will begin assessing the merits of building a mail irradiation facility in Washington to scan all mail addressed to the area's federal offices.

Currently, all mail addressed to Washington-area agencies is collected at a postal facility in Northeast Washington, then shipped to Bridgeport, N.J., where a contractor irradiates it. Upon return to Washington, the mail must sit in isolation for 12 hours. The entire process, in place since the October 2001 anthrax attacks, takes 3 to 4 days.

By building a local facility, Postal Service officials believe they can get mail to federal agencies more quickly. Doing so would also save the agency money, although exactly how much has not been determined. The current contract with IBA-Worldwide costs the agency about $10 million a year. That includes transportation and irradiation.

The agency's preference is to build a facility on land it owns next to the Curseen-Morris Processing and Distribution Center in Northeast Washington, the site of the anthrax attacks, according to agency spokesman Robert Anderson.

Next week, the agency will start an environmental impact assessment to determine whether the site is suitable for such a facility. A host of city and federal agencies are involved in that process, which could take several months. Assuming the site is approved, the Postal Board of Governors must grant funding for the project. From the time funding is approved, it could take two years to get the facility built, said Anderson. The agency hasn't determined if it would hire a contractor to run the facility or train postal employees.

COMMENTS

• Agree totally with the other comments. Why don't they put irradition equipment at all post offices and stop wasting our tax dollars sponsoring sporting events/individuals. For an organization that is that far in the red, I'm still shaking my head at how they can afford to make commercials, sponsor, have little knick-knacks for you to buy (what's up with that?). I personally use Fed-Ex ground for my packages. MUCH cheaper and faster. Don't get me started, please.... GovExec.com reader Posted October 22, 2003 8:58 AM
• Another half-baked USPS idea. If one facility irradiates for anthrax, what about the chemical or bio base of the next mail contamination? Yet another facility? Running mail through a facility next door to Brentwood won't necessarily reduce the three days added to processing and delivery. Besides, if the mail volume (especially First Class) is now reduced to the lowest volume they can remember (that's why USPS defends raising rates and reducing number of employees), then the time it takes to irradiate is slashed and the space needed to tranport first class mail is minimal. Keep using the Ohio facility or stop massive irradiation. History knows the USPS loves to use cannons to swat flies, pat themselves on the back(or issue a stamp)for wiping out the flies, and then demand that Congress investigate the cannon ball manufacturer they are suing for damage to property (let's imply federal today since that's helpful). One other thing--what about the gov't agencies that have CONTRACTS with other mail services? GovExec.com reader Posted October 16, 2003 12:31 PM