Washington—As mind-boggling as it is that the U.S. Postal Service is the country’s largest employer with more than 800,000 employees, the rising numbers related to the Sept. 11 attacks and subsequent anthrax attacks on mail are becoming, perhaps, even more stunning. The Alliance of Nonprofit mailers has compiled the following postal facts and figures related to the attacks:
* the USPS has tested more than 8,800 employees for anthrax exposure
* there are approximately 16,000 USPS employees taking medication as a precaution for anthrax
* two USPS employees remain hospitalized due to anthrax exposure
* the USPS has purchased some 4.8 million masks and 90 million gloves
* a total of 429 postal facilities have been evacuated for varying amounts of time as a result of 11,767 hoaxes, threats and suspicious mailing incidents, which average 654 daily
* postal Inspectors have arrested 26 individuals for anthrax-related hoaxes and threats