We all feel like the postal office really isn't looking out for our best interests

Post worker Kevin Baker

Sitting with his family in their modest detached house in the town of Boca Raton, Kevin Baker cannot believe the nightmare he is going through.

He works in one of Florida's main sorting offices, the one that dealt with the letter sent to tabloid group American Media which left one man dead and dozens more exposed to anthrax.

"This is hell " he said. "I go to work - a job I chose because it was safe - and every day when I come home I do not know if I have been infected."

Holding his hand, his wife Gigi adds: "Every day he goes in he could get sick. If he doesn't catch it in time he could be dead."

Post office infected

Mr Baker's main concern is that he and his colleagues are not receiving adequate protection.

When the first case of anthrax was confirmed in the nearby offices of America Media the building was immediately sealed off and every member of staff was tested within 24 hours.

However, only a few yards away is the post office, which is also infected.

Florida postal workers can now wear gloves at work

Despite the fact that anthrax spores have been found here in two separate areas this office has remained open and only 31 of the hundreds of people working here have been tested.

"We all feel like the postal office really isn't looking out for our best interests," Mr Baker told us.

The postal service's law enforcement wing, the US Postal Inspection Service, has been accused of being ill-prepared by critics such as Rick Merritt, head of the non-profit organisation PostalWatch.

He says the inspection service is now being used "for commercial purposes" meaning that he thinks it is more concerned with accounts than with law enforcement and protecting staff.

Union leaders angry

Now for the first time since the outbreak, workers are allowed to wear gloves as protection against contaminated mail, but these measures are strictly behind the scenes.

No postal worker can be seen in public wearing them.

One person died after anthrax was sent to American Media in Boca Raton

"We feel it would be disconcerting to our customers to come into a postal lobby and have someone serve them wearing gloves and a mask." said Vicky Brennan, District Manager of Postal Services in central Florida.

Gil Santana, president of the local postal union, is angry at the lack of precautions.

"They have a legal obligation to give protection to employees who have been exposed to contaminants," he said.

Although strike action by staff here is forbidden, legal action against the government is now a very real possibility.

With growing support from the American public, many now believe these men and women should get the protection they deserve.