A former United States Postal Service electronics technician says he was exposed twice to muriatic acid at USPS’ massive Avondale, Arizona processing hub, according to reporting last week by the Arizona Republic.
Jeffrey Holliday, a 60-year-old Chandler, Arizona resident, quit his job in April after his second exposure to the hazardous chemical, which spilled from packages broken open by the Matrix East/West Sorter (MEWS)—a multi-platform behemoth that processes 50,000 packages per hour and spans nearly three football fields.
The machine began running in May 2025 as part of the “Delivering for America” (DFA) restructuring plan, which aims to consolidate the post office’s operations into a smaller number of Amazon-style hubs. In addition to the program’s impact on jobs, it is associated with a safety disaster for postal workers.
Holliday’s first exposure occurred on March 27, when a package of muriatic acid—a corrosive form of hydrogen chloride commonly used in swimming pools—burst open on the MEWS. “I was right over the acid spill when I got a couple of lungfuls of it,” Holliday told the Arizona Republic. “Your lungs are on fire. It feels like someone’s holding a lighter on the inside of your lungs. You can’t catch your breath.”
Add your first comment to this post