Mercury Spill Shuts Down Postal Facility In Warrendale
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WARRENDALE (KDKA) -- A local postal facility has shut down due to a chemical spill over the weekend.
An officer with the Postal Police was still blocking the entrance to the Warrendale Network Distribution Center early Monday morning. The gates to the facility were open but cars were being turned away. That was also the case overnight. No one could enter through the gates.
Officials with the U.S. Postal Service said operations have been temporarily suspended at the Warrendale location after a mercury spill.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the Postal Service has temporarily suspended operations at its Network Distribution Center (NDC) in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, due to a chemical spill identified as mercury. All employees are safe and accounted for and none were exposed to the contaminants. Professional environmental contractors are conducting tests to evaluate, clean and certify the safety of the plant. The safety and security of our employees, customers and the mailstream is a top priority for the Postal Service and we will provide updates when we have additional information," said USPS Spokesperson Tad Kelley.
A worker at the facility sent KDKA-TV a message on Facebook stating in part:
"The spill happened at 12 o'clock [Sunday] afternoon and they did not inform the employees until two hours after the fact. I was working at the time with no knowledge until about 2:15 p.m. when I was working my 9th and 10th hours of overtime. We were not informed of the building's closure until driving up the driveway."
As far as mail services being impacted, officials with the U.S. Postal Service said customers could expect limited to no impacts at all.
Tad Kelly, with the Postal Service, released the following statement Monday afternoon:
"Professional environmental contractors are currently testing to evaluate, clean and certify the safety of the facility for our employees and customers. There is no time frame currently for when these measures will be complete.
"Retail services at the Pittsburgh Network & Distribution Center (NDC) located at 300 Brush Creek Road, have been temporarily suspended as well. Postal retail services may be obtained nearby at either the Cranberry Twp. Post Office, located at 240 Executive Drive or the Wexford Post Office located at 10675 Perry Highway. Customers may also find nearby USPS locations at www.usps.com.
"The Postal Service appreciates our customers' patience and regrets any inconvenice during this temporary closure.
"The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations."