Safe-Mail Training Draws Big Crowd

A California Highway Patrol training session on how to safely open mail attracted so many state employees Tuesday morning that nearly half were turned away.

The session, one of several being held in state offices throughout California, drew 150 workers concerned about the possibility of contracting anthrax from a bioterrorist attack through the mail. Only 80 could be accommodated in the Monterey Park CHP building; others were told to return for an afternoon session.

They had so many detailed questions that briefing officer Dana Sampson finally exclaimed: “We can’t just shut down the whole world and close the Postal Service. We just need to be alert.”

Several representatives of the CHP’s hazardous material and biological training unit who flew in from Sacramento for the briefings tried to adopt a light tone as they told those attending that a few precautions and antibiotics for anyone affected will greatly diminish the anthrax danger.

Discussion leader Vince Curry demonstrated how not to handle a suspicious piece of mail: As he opened an envelope and a white powder fell out, he lurched forward, spraying the powder over himself and several people in the front row.

“Don’t do this,” he admonished the audience. “Don’t panic! Hold the envelope down, away from your face. Isolate yourself from others, and notify your supervisor immediately.”

Later on, in answer to a question, he joked that the powder was “a dead strain” of the anthrax bacteria.

Some features that make letters suspicious, briefer Willie Hernandez told the crowd, are too much postage, no return address or a return address that doesn’t match the postmark, a letter from abroad, excessive tape, stains, bulkiness or a strange smell.

“Practice common sense,” he advised. “If something doesn’t seem right, don’t open it.”

Still, the questions came: Should we wear gloves when sorting the mail? Should we wear a mask over our mouths? How long is the incubation period for anthrax?

Sampson, who fielded most of the questions, said gloves may be advisable for those working in a mail room, sorting through hundreds of letters. But he suggested that a mask, which could become hot and uncomfortable, is not necessary.

He said the incubation period was anywhere from a week to 50 days. A powder carrying anthrax spores need not be white, he said.

Among those attending the briefing, which had been mandated at numerous locations across the state by Gov. Gray Davis, was Reuben Beauchamp, manager of the Department of Motor Vehicles office in San Bernardino. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be in a class for opening envelopes,” he said. But, he acknowledged, his office gets hundreds of pieces of mail every day, “so there’s a concern.”

But some were determined not to be overly worried.

“I think we can’t get scared,” said Sandra Aguilar of Los Angeles, a worker for the Department of Rehabilitation. “We have to take every precaution, but we can’t be scared. That’s what the terrorists want us to be.”

Videos of the kind of presentations made Tuesday can be found on the Web at https://www.my.ca.gov.