14 FAH-4 H-120
MAILroom facilitieS
(CT:DPM-30; 05-11-2018)
(Office of Origin: A/LM)
14 FAH-4 H-121 physical requirements
14 FAH-4 H-121.1 Mail Screening
Facilities at Posts Abroad
(CT:DPM-21; 03-16-2015)
a. All mail must be screened at the first point of
entry into the U.S. Government facility, for example at a compound perimeter
wall or at a building exterior, before it enters a mailroom. Mail screening,
which occurs outside the main building in a mail screening facility, is a
separate and distinct task from mail sorting, which takes place in the
mailroom. See 14
FAH-4 H-331 for mail screening
procedures.
b. Mail screening must be performed in a facility
outside the main building, preferably in a removable modular facility, or in an
area or device/container that has its own ventilation system.
c. The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, Deputy
Director for Program Development, Coordination, and Support, Office of Design
and Engineering (OBO/PDCS/DE) is responsible for specific design details for
mail screening facilities at posts abroad. Contact the Mechanical Engineering
Division (OBO/PDCS/DE/ME) for building code requirements.
d. The standard mail screening facility consists of two
rooms: the initial screening area and the secondary screening area:
(1) The initial screening area is used for identifying
suspicious items using the guidelines in 14 FAH-4 Exhibit
H-331 and will be occupied when mail is delivered and screened; and
(2) The secondary area is used for opening suspect
items and will normally be unoccupied. This secondary screening area must be
accessed only through the initial screening area.
e. At a minimum, a mail screening facility must include
the following:
(1) Both the initial and secondary screening areas
must be under negative pressure, relative to atmosphere or adjacent spaces;
(2) The secondary area must be ventilated by a 100
percent exhaust Class I biological safety cabinet (with an integral high efficiency
particulate air (HEPA) filter), supported by a commercial kitchen-grade
stainless steel table; and
(3) The mail screening facility must be finished with
seamless resilient flooring, and must have a sanitary radius cove at the
intersection of the floor and walls. The walls and ceiling must be finished
with washable semi-gloss or gloss enamel paint.
f. Posts abroad that have a permanent structure mail
screening facilities (i.e., not having removable modular facilities) are
considered to have an interim mail screening facility. Interim mail screening
facilities must be outside of the main building, have slab-to-slab wall
construction, and have an isolated HVAC system where no return ducting or
transfer grilles allow HVAC air to leave the mail screening facility, unless
through a Class I biological safety cabinet. The interim mail screening
facility may continue operations until replaced by a removable modular mail
screening facility.
g. The Weapons of Mass Destruction Countermeasures
Division (DS/PSP/WMD) is responsible for establishing countermeasures to
protect personnel against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN)
agents and to prevent the introduction of hazardous substances into posts
abroad. DS/PSP/WMD will assist posts in the development of best practices in
all WMD related matters and will provide mission specific training on mail
screening processes for all applicable post personnel. DS/PSP/WMD is
responsible for evaluating and recommending mail screening equipment and
personal protective equipment (PPE) for use in mail screening operations
abroad.
14 FAH-4 H-121.2 Mail Rooms at
Posts Abroad
(CT:DPM-12; 07-31-2014)
OBO/PDCS/DE is responsible for the design and construction
of mail rooms abroad. Contact OBO/PDCS/DE/ME for building code requirements.
The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, Office of Planning and
Development, Project Evaluation and Analysis Division, Interior Planning and
Analysis Branch (OBO/PDCS/DE/ID), is responsible for the Requirements
Integration Package (RIP) for mail rooms in new and existing facilities abroad.
14 FAH-4 H-121.3 Domestic Mail
Rooms
(CT:DPM-12; 07-31-2014)
a. Bureau mail control officers should conduct a mail
room risk assessment in accordance with GSAs Mail Center Security Guide to
determine required mail room design and operating procedures for domestic mail
rooms. Careful consideration should be given to the volume of mail received,
the sources of the mail, and the transporters of the mail. Based on this
assessment, cost-effective mail screening procedures should be developed to
manage the risk of incoming mail.
b. Mail screening procedures for smaller (less than 20
people), low-visibility mail rooms may be as simple as visually inspecting the
mail for suspicious characteristics and having procedures in place to deal with
any mail deemed to be suspicious. Stronger screening procedures may involve
x-raying the mail and/or opening each piece of mail within a biological safety
cabinet and inspecting the contents of the mail in a controlled environment.
In some cases, such as SA-32, the use of threat detection technologies
(chemical, biological, and radiological sensors) may be warranted. All mail
and parcels destined for Department staff and other agencies' personnel sent
from unknown or other than known trusted sources, require some level of
screening.
c. Based on the risk assessment, the design of the
mail room, required specialized equipment, and standard operating procedures
can be specifically tailored to manage the risk. The Domestic Environmental
and Safety Division (DESD) is available to assist bureau official mail managers
and mail control officers with conducting risk assessments, designing mail
rooms, and developing standardized operating procedures.
14 FAH-4 H-121.4 Military Postal
Facilities Collocated at Posts
(CT:DPM-2; 05-06-2009)
a. Military postal facilities collocated at posts must
provide a safe and healthy work environment for customers and personnel, as
well as secure storage for postal effects.
b. The space required for a military postal facility
collocated at posts should be jointly coordinated and configured to provide
adequate support to the total population, including family members, serviced by
the postal facility.
c. DOD regulations with square footage charts and
structural requirements such as door locks and window bars can be found in
Chapter 13 of the DOD Postal Manual 4525.6-M.
14 FAH-4 H-121.5 Diplomatic Post
Office Facilities
(CT:DPM-12; 07-31-2014)
Diplomatic post offices, like military postal facilities,
are authorized branches of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). As such, they must
meet standards to which the Department, USPS, and the MPSA (Military Postal
Service Agency) agreed in their tripartite agreement. See 14 FAH-5 for a
description of facilities requirements.
14 FAH-4 H-122 security requirements
14 FAH-4 H-122.1 Classified
Pouch/Mail Rooms
(CT:DPM-30; 05-11-2018)
a. Classified pouch/mail rooms must meet the physical
security requirements of a core controlled access area. See 12 FAH-5 H-455.1.
b. Mail rooms without approved security containers to
store all classified material on hand at the end of the work day, based on
either volume or size of material, must meet all the physical security
requirements of a vault for open storage. See 12 FAH-5
H-456.2-2 for vault specifications.
c. Only authorized TOP SECRET cleared U.S. citizen
pouch and mail staff are allowed unescorted access to the classified mail room
or pouch vault.
d. Classified mail room personnel are responsible for
the accountability of all classified items within the classified mail room.
Daily audits should be performed to ensure that all pouch containers are
accounted foreither dispatched or on hand.
14 FAH-4 H-122.2 Unclassified Mail
Rooms
(CT:DPM-30; 05-11-2018)
a. Unclassified mail rooms must meet the physical
security requirements for general work areas (see 12 FAH-5 H-454.2),
except that the room must be kept locked at all times to prevent unauthorized
access. Mail rooms should be designed in such a way as to permit hand-over of
mail without allowing access to the room.
b. Registered items must be locked in a bar-lock
container when the mail room is not staffed.
c. Seals, crimpers, stamps, postage, and currency must
be locked in a bar-lock container when the mail room has no employees present.
14 FAH-4 H-122.3 Authorized Entry
(CT:DPM-21; 03-16-2015)
a. Entry to the classified and unclassified mail and
pouch facilities is restricted to only those persons working in these
facilities. Master keys should not be used to open the mail room door.
b. Security personnel are authorized unescorted entry
in emergency situations. All other visitors to the facilities must be
escorted.
c. The post occupational safety and health officer
(POSHO) (or domestic equivalent) is authorized unannounced escorted entry to
both the classified and unclassified mail rooms in accordance with 15 FAM 962,
paragraph g.
14 FAH-4 H-123 mail room safety
(CT:DPM-21; 03-16-2015)
a. Classified and unclassified mail rooms at posts
abroad meet the definition of an increased risk work area and therefore the
POSHO must inspect the mail rooms at least twice a year, per 15 FAM 962,
paragraph c.
b. The Domestic Environmental Safety Division (DESD) of
the Office of Facilities Management Services (A/OPR/FMS) is responsible for the
Departments domestic safety, health, environmental, and environmental health
programs and will assist domestic mail rooms in integrating appropriate safety,
health, environmental, and environmental health requirements into mail room
operations.
c. The Office of Safety, Health, and Environmental
Management (SHEM) of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, Deputy
Director for Operations (OBO/OPS) is responsible for the Departments safety,
health, environmental, and environmental health programs abroad and will assist
mail rooms at posts abroad in incorporating appropriate safety, health,
environmental, and environmental health requirements into mail room operations.
14 FAH-4 H-124 THROUGH H-129 UNASSIGNED