Petersburg’s post office reopened at 11 Friday morning. The facility was closed for over a week because of mercury spilled from a package last Thursday, September 13. Limited mail service has been offered for a week at the Petersburg Indian Association’s building.
A crew worked to clean up the spilled mercury and then sent air samples south for testing. Officials were waiting for the results of that air quality testing before reopening the building to customers and employees.
A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service writes in an email, “professional environmental contractors and regulators have evaluated, cleaned and certified the safety of the post office. The postal service apologizes for the inconvenience and appreciates its customers’ patience.”
Spokesman Brian Sperry did not answer questions about the item that leaked or the person responsible.
