MAIL SCREENING TO DETECT MAIL CONTAMINATED WITH BIOLOGICAL HARMFUL SUBSTANCES
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-tier approach for use in a mailroom for detecting bio-threats conveyed by mail. In a first tier procedure, mail entering the mailroom is continuously automatically screened at a mail screening station to detect a potential bio-threat contamination. If a potential bio-threat is detected, an alarm signal is generated, a sample of the potential bio-threat is collected, and a second tier procedure is initiated. The second tier procedure uses a manual test, such as a nucleic acid amplification and detection assay to detect any of a plurality of different specific bio-threats in the sample. If a specific bio-threat is found, appropriate steps are taken to limit spread of the bio-threat and exposure of personnel. A third tier procedure uses a manual assay to check for a specific toxin in background samples collected over a predefined time interval at each mail screening station and in the air handling system for the mailroom.
0 Citations
24 Claims
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1. (canceled)
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2. A method for screening mail to detect a harmful substance conveyed by the mail;
- comprising steps of;
(a) automatically sampling air drawn from the vicinity of the mail to screen wherein the sampling comprises continuously sampling the air proximate each one of a plurality of mail handling stations, and further comprising the steps of; (i) deploying a filter unit through which air proximate each one of the plurality of mail handling stations is filtered; and (ii) at the end of a predetermined period of time, analyzing particles collected by each filter unit, in order determine if relatively low concentrations of potentially harmful particles were missed by the automatic evaluation of the air sampled at the mail handling station, such relatively low concentrations accumulating over the predetermined period of time into a detectable concentration in the filter; (b) automatically evaluating the sampled air to detect a potentially harmful substance that is carried by the mail and which is picked up from the mail by the air moving in the vicinity of the mail, such evaluation being characterized as broadly determining if a potentially harmful substance must be present, as opposed to identifying a specific harmful substance, the evaluation comprising; (i) determining if a particle count is the sample exceeds a predetermined threshold, and if so determining that a potentially harmful substance might be present; and (ii) illuminating the sample to determine if a characteristic fluorescence indicating the presence of biological particles is detected, and if so, determining that a potentially harmful substance might be present; (c) providing and indication if a potentially harmful substance is detected while the mail is being screened; and (d) in response to the indication of a potentially harmful substance being detected, carrying out an assay of a sample of the potentially harmful substance, to confirm the indication and to attempt to identify a specific harmful substance that is being conveyed by mail. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 24)
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7-10. -10. (canceled)
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14. A method for screening mail to detect a harmful substance conveyed by the mail, comprising the steps of;
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(a) automatically sampling air drawn from a vicinity of the mail to screen the mail; (b) automatically evaluating the sampled air to detect a potentially harmful substance that is carried mail and which is picked from the mail by the air moving in the vicinity of the mail, such evaluation being characterized as broadly determining if a potentially harmful substance might be present, as opposed to identifying a specific harmful substance, the evaluation comprising; (i) determining if a particle count in the sample exceeds a predetermined threshold, and if so determining that a potentially harmful substance might be present; and (ii) illuminating the sample to determine if a characteristic fluorescence indicating the presence of biological particles is detected, and if so, determining that a potentially harmful substance might be present; (c) providing an indication if a potentially harmful substance is detected while the mail is being screened; (d) in response to the indication of a potentially harmful substance being detected, carrying out an assay of a sample of the potentially harmful substance, to confirm the indication and to attempt to identify a specific harmful substance that is being conveyed by the mail; and (e) visually inspecting parcels or boxes of mail to detect a powder that may comprise a potentially harmful substance; and (f) if a power that may comprise a potentially harmful substance is visually detected during the step of visually inspecting, then using a portable infrared Raman spectrometer to attempt to identify the powder, and if the powder cannot be identified using the portable infrared Raman spectrometer, carrying out an assay of the powder, to attempt to identify a specific harmful substance comprising the powder, the assay comprising at least one of the following; a nucleic acid amplification and detecting assay test; and (ii) an immunoassay test.
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18. (canceled)
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19. (canceled)
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20. A method for screening mail to detect a harmful substance conveyed by the mail, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a plurality of mail handling stations such that each peace of mail entering a mail processing facility passes through at least one of the plurality of mail handling stations; (b) at each mail handling station, automatically sampling air drawn from a vicinity of the mail handling station to screen any mail at the mail handling station; automatically evaluating the air sampled at each mail handling station to detect a potentially harmful substance that is carried by the mail and which is picked up from the mail by the air moving in the vicinity of the mail, such evaluation being characterized as broadly determining if a potentially harmful substance might be present, as opposed to identifying a specific harmful substance; (d) providing an indication if a potentially harmful substance is detected while the mail is being screened; (e) in response to the indication of a potentially harmful substance being detected, carrying out an assay of a sample of the potentially harmful substance, to confirm the indication and to attempt to identify a specific harmful substance that is being conveyed by the mail; and (f) visually inspecting parcels or boxed of mail to detect a power that may comprise a potentially harmful substance, such that that if a power is visually detected, using a portable infrared Raman spectrometer to attempt to identify the power, and if the powder cannot be identified using the portable infrared Raman spectrometer carrying out an assay of the powder, to attempt to identify a specific harmful substance comprising the powder, the assay comprising at lest one of the following; (i) a nucleic acid amplification and detection assay test; and (ii) an immunoassay test.
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21. A method for screening mail that is passing through a mailroom, for contamination by a bio-threat, in a multi-tier approach, comprising the steps of:
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(a) in a first tier screening of the mail, continuously sampling the air proximate each mail handling station in the mailroom, thereby screening each item of mail entering the mailroom to detect a potential bio-threat that may be conveyed by one or more pieces of the mail; (b) if a potential bio-threat is detected during the first tier screening, collecting a sample of the potential bio-threat, and producing a first tier alarm indicating that a potential bio-threat may have been detected, without specifically identifying a particular bio-threat; (c) initiating a second tier screening of the sample collected during the first tier screening to attempt to identify a bio-threat comprising the sample; (d) if it is confirmed by the second tier screening that the sample comprises a specific bio-threat, initiating a series of predefined appropriate steps to limit contamination by preventing the specific bio-threat from spreading beyond the mailroom, and to limit exposure of personnel to the specific bio-threat; (f) deploying at least one filter unit through which air in the mailroom is filtered; and (g) at the end of a predetermined period of time, analyzing particles collected by the at least one filter unit, in order to determine if relatively low concentrations of potentially harmful particles were missed by the tier screening, such relatively low concentrations accumulating over the predetermined period of time into a detectable concentration in the at least on filter unit. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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22. (canceled)
Specification