BAKERSFIELD, CA — The U.S. Postal Service will conduct a Biohazard Detection System (BDS) positive-alert full-scale exercise at the Bakersfield Processing and Distribution Center, 3400 Pegasus Dr., Bakersfield, CA 93380, on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010 at 2 p.m. The entire exercise will last approximately three hours.

Advance notice is being provided so local residents and businesses do not become alarmed by the drill, which may include the presence of several emergency vehicles. There will be no real emergency. A building evacuation similar to a standard fire drill will occur and decontamination stations will be set up.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kern County Department of Public Health, Kern County Environmental Health, American Red Cross, Kern County Emergency Management Services, Bakersfield Fire Department, Kern County Fire Department, Bakersfield Police Department, Kern County Sheriff, and California Highway Patrol will also be participating in the exercise.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 26th in the 2008 Fortune 500.