USPS: Protect the mailstream – properly dispose of hazardous, regulated items

August 3, 2023 The Postal Service wants to remind employees to safeguard the mailstream from improperly wrapped or damaged packages containing hazardous materials. Once packages containing damaged, leaking or nonmailable hazardous materials are identified, they should be brought to a designated rewrap or hazardous material mail staging area for assessment. Hazardous items that are disposed…

 Continue reading

USPS: Mercury Remains Prohibited in The Mail

Correction 7/27/2023: Don’t Mail Mercury The article titled “Don’t Mail Mercury,” published in Postal Bulletin 22268 (7-13-23, pages 33–34), contained incorrect information regarding the international mailability of compact fluorescent lamps. Compact fluorescent lamps are prohibited to international destinations. The corrected information is shown in bold: Compact fluorescent lamps contain small amounts of mercury vapor. If broken, there will be…

 Continue reading

USPS: Dispose of waste bulbs properly

September 27, 2021 The Postal Service is reminding employees that most waste bulbs contain hazardous materials and must be disposed of properly. Fluorescent, high intensity discharge (HID), light emitting diode (LED), neon and ultraviolet bulbs contain mercury or other toxic metals. When these bulbs are no longer usable, they are considered universal waste and must…

 Continue reading

USPS: How to discard used aerosol cans

July 2, 2021 The Postal Service is reminding employees that waste aerosol cans must be stored and disposed of properly. These cans are a potential safety and environmental hazard because they may contain unused chemical products and propellant. Aerosol cans that contain unused liquid or propellants must never be disposed of in the regular trash….

 Continue reading

Postal Bulletin: November is HAZMAT Awareness Month

To protect the health and safety of our employees and the general public, the Postal Service™ has developed specific procedures for safeguarding, identifying, handling, and delivering hazardous materials (HAZMAT). Since there have been several recent incidents of non-mailable HAZMAT in the mailstream, November has been designated “HAZMAT Awareness Month” to highlight these issues. Incidents, including…

 Continue reading

USPS: Properly dispose of hazardous, regulated items

The Postal Service wants employees to safeguard the mailstream from improperly wrapped or damaged packages containing hazardous materials. Once packages containing damaged, leaking or nonmailable hazardous materials are identified, they should be brought to a designated rewrap or hazardous material mail staging area for assessment. Hazardous items that are disposed of locally could be regulated…

 Continue reading

USPS hand sanitizer warning: Watch out for toxic products

The Postal Service and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are warning employees and customers to be on alert for hand sanitizers that may contain methanol, a dangerous, highly toxic chemical often used as an industrial solvent. The coronavirus pandemic has spurred demand for hand sanitizer products. However, the FDA recently warned the public that…

 Continue reading

USPS OIG: Mercury Mailability Communication and Implementation

Objective Our objective was to assess the effectiveness of the internal communication and implementation of mercury mailability policy changes. The Postal Service revised its mercury mailability policies in March of 2019 as a result of mercury spills at various mail processing plants throughout the country. The Postal Service made notable changes to its Publication 52,…

 Continue reading