Mercury leak closes post office

KALISPELL, Mont. – Employees at the main post office here got stuck working on Presidents Day after weekend mail sorting and other tasks were delayed because a package leaked mercury, drawing a response from as far away as Wisconsin.

The post office was shut down Saturday after about 21/2 ounces of mercury leaked from a package in a mail delivery van that was driven into the building.

The package contained an old medical device that a Kalispell physician bought on the Internet, post office shift supervisor Darla Hooper said Monday.

The leak was discovered about 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The post office was evacuated about half an hour later and remained closed for 26 hours.

Units responding included a local hazardous materials team, police and an ambulance crew.

The U.S. Postal Service contacted a number of environmental firms in Montana in an effort to find a device to measure mercury in the air, said Al DeSarro, regional spokesman for the agency. The closest one found was in Wisconsin, he said. The device was brought to Montana by three people who flew to Missoula and then drove to Kalispell.

DeSarro said the device did not detect dangerous levels of mercury.

“The readings were real low,” he said. “It was a small amount of mercury, and most of it was leaked in the letter carrier’s vehicle.”

DeSarro said the vehicle and other parts of the post office have been thoroughly tested and cleaned, “and it’s all been determined to be safe.”

A number of employees – most of them managers – worked Saturday and Sunday to oversee the situation, he said.

Employees who sort mail worked Sunday night and Monday.

“In one sense, it’s good that it happened on a holiday weekend,” DeSarro said. “Everything is back to normal, and no mail will be delayed. Everyone can feel reassured the post office is safe.”

Hooper said the people from Wisconsin took the mercury when they left.