In-Depth Survey Report: Single Letter Particle Expulsion Comparison of an Existing Advanced Facer Canceller System (AFCS) and an AFCS 200 Configuration at Siemens Industry, Mobility USA, Infrastructure Logistics Postal Solutions, Arlington, Texas

摘要

Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted an evaluation to compare particle expulsion from letters sent through United States Postal Service (USPS) mail processing equipment - the Advanced Facer Canceller System (AFCS) and the production AFCS 200 configuration under the Biohazard Detection System (BDS) hood and in the BDS area. The AFCS 200 was developed to update the approximately 20 year old AFCS fleet of mail processing machines. The testing described in this report evaluated changes to the AFCS 200, such as belt speeds and pulley sizes, which might negatively impact the release of particles from mail pieces processed on the machine. The AFCS agitates and compresses mail pieces during initial mail processing operations to expel any biological hazards that could be contained in a mail piece. A BDS, located over initial hard pinch points on the AFCS, samples and analyzes the air for the presence of biohazards thereby preventing the delivery of a tainted letter to a target destination address. To compare particle expulsion, an existing AFCS and AFCS 200 were tested side-by-side at Siemens Industry, Mobility USA, Infrastructure Logistics Postal Solutions in Arlington, TX. Each machine had a BDS hood ventilation system that captured expelled particles and allowed for sample collection from the exhaust stream of the BDS hose. Comparisons were based on particle count measurements taken from the sample hose of the BDS after each individual letter loaded with dry polystyrene latex (PSL) spheres was processed by each machine.