By Associated Press, 10/12/01

Postal officials are urging people to be wary of suspicious and unexpected mail following the discovery of a case of anthrax in New York, possibly transmitted by mail.

This image released by the Postal Service gives instructions on how to handle suspicious correspondence or packages received in the mail. (AFP)

Kenneth W. Newman, deputy chief inspector of investigations for the Postal Inspection Service urged people to be cautious if they receive suspicious mail.

Characteristics postal inspectors say should trigger suspicion include parcels that are unexpected or from someone unfamiliar; are addressed to someone no longer with your organization; have no return address, or have one that can't be verified; are of unusual weight, given their size, or are lopsided or oddly shaped; are marked with endorsements, such as "Personal" or "Confidential;" have protruding wires, strange odors or stains, or show a city or state in the postmark that doesn't match the return address.

In such cases, he said:

-Do not try to open the parcel.

-Isolate the parcel.

-Evacuate the immediate area.

-Call a postal inspector to report that you've received a parcel in the mail that may contain biological or chemical substances.

Postmaster General John Potter said people could also call local police, which cooperate with the postal service.

"We handle 680 million pieces of mail a day. Obviously there are going to be some pieces of mail that will draw concern," Potter said.

Potter said postal employees receive regular training in dealing with potentially dangerous items. The American Postal Workers Union and National Association of Letter Carriers said the agency had issued an advisory to workers urging caution and advising the proper steps to take with suspicious items.

During 1999 and 2000, the were approximately 178 anthrax threats received at courthouses, abortion clinics, churches, schools and post offices, the agency reported. So far this year there have been about 60 such threats or hoaxes.

"We are investigating every incident where somebody has a concern or suspicion about a piece of mail," Potter said in a telephone interview.

The postmaster general said he was concerned that the increased attention to this threat "will cause others to follow suit and that we may have some hoaxes out there."

"We need it to be reinforced that we are going to do everything we can to track down the source if there's a hoax and prosecute," he said.