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.