Workplace: New Mail Room Procedures, Daily Briefings Are Being Implemented
San Diego employers are stepping up educational outreach, enhancing security systems and taking other precautions in the wake of the deaths of two postal workers in Washington, D.C., who were infected with inhalation anthrax.
At Sempra Energy, the parent for San Diego Gas & Electric Co., an information campaign on what anthrax is and how to handle any suspicious packages was launched, said spokesman Ed Van Herik.
The company has also implemented a managerial training program for dealing with possible contamination and letting employees know about available psychological counseling to cope with any anxieties they may have.
“The company is taking this seriously and regards the safety and security of our employees as a primary concern,” Van Herik said.
Although Sempra has tightened certain security measures involving the way it handles mail, Van Herik declined to say what those measures were.
Similar educational alerts were sent out to employees of Cubic Corp., a San Diego-based diversified technology firm.
Kelly Williams, a Cubic spokeswoman, said employees were notified about the anthrax threat in an e-mail that contains links to Web sites for the Centers for Disease Control.
“We’re watching closely what the CDC is advising people to do and if there’s any additional recommendations, then we’re passing it on,” Williams said.
Because Cubic is a defense contractor and does a significant amount of business with the federal government, security is already a high priority so the firm hasn’t changed its procedures.
“We’re making sure all our T’s are crossed and I’s are dotted,” she said.
Taking No Chances
At television station KSWB Channel 5/69, the handling of the daily mail has been changed “top to bottom,” said Lise Markham, vice president and general manager.
Mail room employees now wear gloves, and if they spot something that appears suspicious, they are advised to separate it from the rest of the mail.
“If they see something they don’t want to open, they don’t have to,” she said.
As another precaution, all mail arriving from Washington, D.C., New Jersey or Florida is separated for further scrutiny before it’s opened.
The station also sealed off all the air conditioning ducts to the mail room to prevent further contamination to other rooms should any piece of mail delivered to the station contain anthrax.
Security of KSWB’s building in Kearny Mesa has also been tightened, and everyone entering must show proper identification, Markham said.
While letters containing anthrax were delivered to two high-profile New York television stations, employees of the local station aren’t that fearful, Markham said. The media targets for the anthrax-laced letters were NBC and CBS, and the Florida company that publishes the National Enquirer. The Tribune Co., parent of KSWB as well as the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, recently hired its own security adviser to oversee the security for the company’s 25,000 employees, Markham said.
“This is an ongoing process that we’re re-evaluating every single day,” she said.
At its regional mail processing plant in Carmel Mountain Ranch, which sorts about 12 million pieces of mail daily, the U.S. Postal Service is encouraging mail handlers and any other employee to wear gloves and masks when handling the mail. However, most are not doing so, said Mike Cannone, a spokesman for the San Diego Postal District.
Since the deaths of two fellow postal workers, there’s been a “heightened level of concern, but not necessarily a heightened level of alarm” among employees, Cannone said.
He said he hasn’t heard of any employees who refused to come to work or were afraid of working because of the anthrax incidents. Since the deadly anthrax attacks, all Postal Service employees are given daily, face-to-face briefings on any new developments involving the incidents and how to safely do their jobs, Cannone said.
In an effort to aid the investigation of the incidents, the Postal Service has issued a $1 million reward leading to the arrest of those responsible for the deadly mailings. In addition, California’s post offices have instituted a $5,000 reward to anyone providing information about anyone perpetrating an anthrax hoax.
Cannone said in recent weeks there have been several letters that contained a white, powdery substance that caused the closure of local postal stations.
All employees of United Parcel Service are in a heightened state of alert and have been issued specific guidelines for handling suspicious packages, said UPS regional spokeswoman Robin Roberts.
She said there have been no reports of increased absences among the area’s 2,400 employees who work in four facilities.
Like many other companies interviewed for this article, UPS provides its employees with the services of a counselor as part of its employee assistance program. Employees can contact the service by calling anonymously, using an 800 number, Roberts said.
Similarly, UPS and other companies contacted declined to reveal many specifics about the security measures they were implementing.
“We’re using many of the same safety standards, but we believe it’s counterproductive to discuss them,” said UPS spokeswoman Sandy Woodyard.
