Mobile security: Mail screening hits the road

Mobile Mail Screening Station

The United States Postal Inspection Service is taking its act on the road.

The new Mobile Mail Screening Station (MMSS) is a self-sufficient screening station that can detect chemical, bio­logical, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats. The inaugural assignment for MMSS was the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Conference held in Miami.

The Technical Services Division of the Postal Inspection Service designed the vehicle and wrote the specifications. The 53-foot custom tractor and trailer contains eight func­tional areas designed to accommodate existing and future technology. The facility requires a staff of five to eight people.