Two-Operator Batch Processing System

Mailroom Glove Boxes
Safer Mail Handling—

Mailroom gloveboxes and hoods can prevent contamination, permit safer mail handling and prevent spreading anthrax and other contaminants

Potentially contaminated mail can be processed more safely inside sealed gloveboxes or under continuously HEPA filtered hoods. Since mailboxes, mail containers and the mailroom itself may become contaminated before the mail is processed, these devices can not eliminate all contamination. They can prevent spreading contamination during the sorting and opening processes by keeping these steps either sealed inside a glovebox or by filtering all air that passes over the mail during processing to remove harmful particles, then sealing the area when a suspected article is found.

Terra offers mail-handling products to process mail in either a Batch Process System or a Continuous Process System, described below. Organizations should choose the system that best fits their operations and that provide the safety they prefer.

Before deciding which system to install in your facility, please read recommendations from the CDC and the US Postal Service.

Batch Processing

The Batch Processing System is an acrylic glovebox. Mail is loaded into the box through the two 16” x 16” stainless steel-framed side doors, the doors are closed and the operator sorts/opens the mail. If all goes well, the doors are opened and the mail is extracted. If anything unusual is found, the hands are removed, the box remains sealed with all contents, ancillary steps recommended by the CDC are taken and the appropriate authorities are called. Batch Processing units are offered in one-operator and two-operator sizes.

System includes one or two Pairs of changeable accordion sleeves with nitrile gloves.

Hinged door closes to confine contamination inside cabinet .

Continuous Processing

The Continuous Processing System is an acrylic hood with HEPA filtered airflow to capture contaminating particles and a work opening in the front through which operators wearing nitrile gloves process mail. The operator turns on the filter, puts on nitrile gloves, then puts mail in through the 16” x 16” stainless-steel-framed side doors or through the front work opening and the sorts/opens it. So long as all goes well, sorted/opened mail can be removed and processed as usual (put in the distribution cart, etc.). If anything unusual is found, the nitrile gloves are peeled off inside the box, the operators' hands are removed, the working door is latched, and the blower is turned off. The hood remains sealed with all contents inside, ancillary steps recommended by the CDC are taken and the appropriate authorities are called. Continuous Processing units are offered in one-operator and two-operator sizes.

Comparison:

No known system can prevent all contamination. These two systems decrease the risk of spreading contamination during the mail processing steps and provide some protection to mail operators. If contamination is suspected, the mailroom staff must also take ancillary steps recommended by the CDC, such as immediately sealing the room, washing hands thoroughly, notifying and recording all people in contact with the area. In addition, the system must remain sealed while authorities are called to investigate.

Between these two units, the Batch Processing System offers more protection because no mail is taken out until the entire batch is cleared. Working inside nitrile gloves, which completely protect the operator's hands and arms, is not as easy or comfortable as working with the nitrile gloves used in the continuous processing system.

Operators using the Continuous Processing System may remove some processed mail before discovering that an envelope at the bottom is non-normal and may have contaminated the processed pieces. The nitrile gloves in this system are more comfortable and are easier to use. They do not protect the operator's arms, however, so thorough washing after a potential contamination is essential.