“I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Fairfield Post Master Wendy Mensch. “We are getting very little mail, mostly packages.”
Mail service was halted last week following receipt of an improperly mailed package containing mercury at the mail processing and distribution center in Coppell, Texas on Tuesday, August 7, 2018.
This center serves the North Texas area, including Freestone County.
The Coppell Center was immediately shut down and Hazmat teams called in, as the Postal Service implemented its emergency preparedness procedures.
Thankfully, no employees were injured and the hazardous material was contained.
A criminal investigation is expected, following the clean up by Hazmat.
Whoever sent the package could face federal charges.
Once mail was halted, all incoming mail was diverted to other facilities. Fairfield’s Post Master relates that mail from Fairfield was being processed in Shreveport, Lousiana.
“The mailstream has remained safe throughout the temporary suspension and the mail has continued to move,” reads an official statement from the Postal Service. “Our dedicated postal employees are working around the clock to minimize any service disruptions.”
It was announced on Monday, August 13, 2018 that, following completion of the U.S. Postal Service’s remediation efforts and compliance with environmental regulations, the Distribution Center in Coppell will resume daily operations beginning August 13, 2018.
“We apologize to customers who may have experienced temporary service issues and assure them that we continue to make progress every day toward restoring normal operations,” says the Postal Service. “We appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers, suppliers, and mailing partners.”
