JMU Mailroom Precautions

Interoffice mail and business mail will be delivered as usual.

Personal mail will be delivered in the following procedure.

Mail personnel will be trained on what type of mail is suspicious. Suspicious mail will be placed in an area of the mailroom away from any intake air vents. A form letter will be delivered to the addressee in lieu of the letter, informing them to come to the mailroom to pick up their mail. Rubber gloves and masks will be available for mailroom employees to wear at their option while sorting mail.

When the addressee, or their designee, arrive for the mail, They will be advised as to why the letter is suspicious. The letter will be opened in a designated area. The person opening the letter will be asked if they would like rubber gloves and a mask to wear. The letter will be opened with a letter opener.

Should the letter contain anything suspicious, it will be placed down and covered. No one will handle the letter further. Public Safety (Phone 6911) will be notified. They in turn will notify the Vice President for Administration and Finance, the AVP for Resource Planning, the Executive Assistant to the President (who happens to chair the University Threat Assessment Committee), state and federal law enforcement agencies, and the regional Director of Public Health. No one will leave the area until authorized to do so by the Campus Police.

Should a foreign substance get on any individuals clothing the Campus Police will want to take the clothing with them. It suggested that the University and its contract mail distribution and delivery service provide sufficient scrub outfits for Postal Services employees to change into upon disrobing. A spray bottle of water will be maintained in the mailroom, Public Safety and the nurse's office. This is to be used to spray the clothing in the event that the powder starts to fly off.

A designated area will be assigned as an alternate mailroom should the mailroom be quarantined.