Are Sorting Machines Making the Postman Sick

[TrueBlueTerrier]

USA report with video but I thought it was worth posting even just for information purposes.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?secti ... id=6523500
By Steve Daniels

RALEIGH -- Ernest Perry worked for nearly 20 years at the Raleigh mail processing center. He says he sorted mail using giant machines that spewed dust until he started getting sick.

"You see dust, flying," said Perry. "It's constant mail movement, constant mail all around you," he continued.

He says when he started having shortness of breath he thought it was allergies or the flu until it became so bad that he went to the hospital.

"I went to the emergency room and the doctors were just mesmerized looking at my lungs, and, of course that feeling of, "Oh, no, what is it?'" said Perry.

Perry says the doctors told him it was sarcoidosis: scarring of the lungs. Normally, lungs show up black on x-rays. But, his x-rays reveal white clouds. He says over the years, it got much worse.

"It's tough to do anything," explained Perry. "It's tough to just wake up in the morning and take a deep, you can't do that. You wake up in the morning, or if you don't, you're not waking during the night trying to catch a breath."

In 2006, Perry needed a lung transplant. Perry's one of 450 postal workers all over the country who've signed a petition asking the federal government to study the impact of postal dust on their health.

"It's terrible, it's scary not being able to breathe," said Perry.

Postal workers in Chicago with similar health problems have filters that they say are from sorting machines. Perry's wondering if all that dust had something to do with his lung disease.

"I was fine before I went to the Postal Service, I had, one doctor told me about a year or so before I was diagnosed with the sarcoidosis, that I had the physiology of a trained athlete," said Perry. "You were healthy before?" asked Eyewitness News. "I was healthy, I was very healthy," Perry responded. "Something happened while you were working with the postal service?" we asked. "Yes, yes it did," said Perry.

Dr. Christine Oliver is a Harvard doctor who studies environmental and occupational medicine.

"Significant difficulties can arise as a result of work in a building with airborne contaminants or other problems," said Dr. Oliver.

She says postal paper fibers could be the source of the workers' symptoms.

"One of the critical variables is how long a person continues to work in that environment after they develop symptoms," she offered.

Two studies in 1998 from the National Institute for Occupational Safety or NIOSH and Health, one in Tampa and one in an Omaha post office, reported no direct link between health concerns and postal dust.

In 2007, NIOSH denied a request from postal workers for further studies saying they "were not likely to yield additional useful information."

Still, postal workers like Ernest Perry want an outside agency to study the dust.

"It's like, the wolf guarding the hen house," offered Perry. "You think it's a problem that the federal government is investigating another part of the federal government?" we asked. "I think it would cost them a lot of money if they found out all these people are having problems because of the dust in the post office," said Perry.

Perry wants postal workers to get to the doctor immediately if they're feeling sick.

"If they're having these problems, they need to get it checked out before it becomes, before they have to go through what I went through," he said.

A Postal Service spokesman in North Carolina told Eyewitness News they're not aware of any problems with air quality affecting their workers here. He added they don't see it as a problem here in North Carolina. Still, the USPS says it tests the air all the time to make sure it's safe.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Do our Mail Processing centres have the same problems

Does Royal Mail test the Air Quality in these areas.

[Tman]

TrueBlueTerrier"]Do our Mail Processing centres have the same problems

Of course they do. Why do you think the machines need cleaning three times a day?

Does Royal Mail test the Air Quality in these areas.

Occasionally, and noise levels too, but the testers are RM staff......

For whatever reason, it doesn't appear to cause too many problems though. Even known asthmatics seem to run machines for years with no adverse reactions to the airborne dust.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

TrueBlueTerrier"]Do our Mail Processing centres have the same problems

Of course they do. Why do you think the machines need cleaning three times a day?

Does Royal Mail test the Air Quality in these areas.

Occasionally, and noise levels too, but the testers are RM staff......

For whatever reason, it doesn't appear to cause too many problems though. Even known asthmatics seem to run machines for years with no adverse reactions to the airborne dust.

Doh - I am in deliveries I did not know that they are cleaned 3 times a day, how would you expect me to. I was ignorant so I asked a question - nothing wrong in that was there.

[andy2007]

TrueBlueTerrier"]Do our Mail Processing centres have the same problems

Of course they do. Why do you think the machines need cleaning three times a day?

Does Royal Mail test the Air Quality in these areas.

Occasionally, and noise levels too, but the testers are RM staff......

For whatever reason, it doesn't appear to cause too many problems though. Even known asthmatics seem to run machines for years with no adverse reactions to the airborne dust.

Doh - I am in deliveries I did not know that they are cleaned 3 times a day, how would you expect me to. I was ignorant so I asked a question - nothing wrong in that was there.

No, it was a very sensible question. Thanks for bringing the subject up. It might be worth pointing out our procedures to the USPS Union, so they can try to get the same thing introduced there.

[Tman]

Doh - I am in deliveries I did not know that they are cleaned 3 times a day, how would you expect me to. I was ignorant so I asked a question - nothing wrong in that was there

Nothing at all. Did my reply lead you to think I expected you to know, Mr Touchy?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Doh - I am in deliveries I did not know that they are cleaned 3 times a day, how would you expect me to. I was ignorant so I asked a question - nothing wrong in that was there

Nothing at all. Did my reply lead you to think I expected you to know, Mr Touchy?

Yes - your use of language can offend posters and perhaps is the reason some on here dismiss your views so readily:

For instance the offending section of your post

Of course they do. Why do you think the machines need cleaning three times a day?

could perhaps have been worded:

Yes they do - and so they are cleaned 3 times a day.

The difference one is dismissive and one is informative.

[Tman]

Of course they do. Why do you think the machines need cleaning three times a day? [/color]

could perhaps have been worded:

Yes they do - and so they are cleaned 3 times a day.

The difference one is dismissive and one is informative.

That's the eternal problem with email etc, namely, as you can't see the facial expression, eyes, etc of the person making the statement, it's easy to misinterpret the message. My reply was more rhetorical than dismissive, but I take your point that we should all be more aware of our language ( eh TBT, "you gotta hidden agenda or summat FFS.....") when getting the point across.

[lover]

the answer is yes

[brothermagrew]

Doh - I am in deliveries I did not know that they are cleaned 3 times a day, how would you expect me to. I was ignorant so I asked a question - nothing wrong in that was there

Nothing at all. Did my reply lead you to think I expected you to know, Mr Touchy?

Yes - your use of language can offend posters and perhaps is the reason some on here dismiss your views so readily:

For instance the offending section of your post

Of course they do. Why do you think the machines need cleaning three times a day?

could perhaps have been worded:

Yes they do - and so they are cleaned 3 times a day.

The difference one is dismissive and one is informative.

Always look forward to reading the Tman's posts, although it has to be said on many occassions I don't agree with a lot of what he says, but that's exactly what the forums for, open debate to put each others points of view forward, and hopefully have a good discussion of those issues that effect our daily lives. Instead of getting into a slanging match with each other.

[axeman]

TrueBlueTerrier"]Do our Mail Processing centres have the same problems

Of course they do. Why do you think the machines need cleaning three times a day?

Does Royal Mail test the Air Quality in these areas.

Occasionally, and noise levels too, but the testers are RM staff......

For whatever reason, it doesn't appear to cause too many problems though. Even known asthmatics seem to run machines for years with no adverse reactions to the airborne dust.

One reason and one reason only as to why the machines are vacumed a few times a day is to make them work fairly efficently ! As for health concerns from royal fail they have to be within the law regarding of noise levels but as for dust floating around the operators they couldn't give a sh*t

[johnnyp]

Doh - I am in deliveries I did not know that they are cleaned 3 times a day, how would you expect me to. I was ignorant so I asked a question - nothing wrong in that was there

Nothing at all. Did my reply lead you to think I expected you to know, Mr Touchy?

Yes - your use of language can offend posters and perhaps is the reason some on here dismiss your views so readily:

For instance the offending section of your post

Of course they do. Why do you think the machines need cleaning three times a day?

could perhaps have been worded:

Yes they do - and so they are cleaned 3 times a day.

The difference one is dismissive and one is informative.

Always look forward to reading the Tman's posts, although it has to be said on many occassions I don't agree with a lot of what he says, but that's exactly what the forums for, open debate to put each others points of view forward, and hopefully have a good discussion of those issues that effect our daily lives. Instead of getting into a slanging match with each other.

Sometimes its very hard not to have grief on here but spot on brothermagrew

[Tman]

One reason and one reason only as to why the machines are vacumed a few times a day is to make them work fairly efficently !

That's your opinion, but it's wrong, I'm afraid. RM and H&S rules and regs are quite specific regarding airborne dust and it's removal.

[axeman]

[/quote]

That's your opinion, but it's wrong, I'm afraid. RM and H&S rules and regs are quite specific regarding airborne dust and it's removal.[/quote]


Then why are the machines just in open space ? no extractors are present and no filtration system is in sight if as you say it's safe by who's standards ?
there is simply no way the airbourne dust is removed efficently other than by means of circulation and through the open doors etc .
If there were real concerns from royal fail to protect it's 'people' then they would have an extraction system above every machine in the mail centres as a precautionary measure this proves they care more about cost than the health of it's 'people'

[brothermagrew]

One reason and one reason only as to why the machines are vacumed a few times a day is to make them work fairly efficently !

That's your opinion, but it's wrong, I'm afraid. RM and H&S rules and regs are quite specific regarding airborne dust and it's removal.

COSHH Regs would be applicable then? Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations.