The threat of anthrax for most of us may be overblown, media analysts say. But for secretarial workers, it is too close for comfort.

"We're on the front line here," said Evelyn Berg, chapter leader for school secretaries in the United Federation of Teachers in New York City. "We get the mail. We open it."

Berg works at the Bronx High School of Science, where the administration directed the use of gloves and provides them. Many school clerical workers are using gloves now to open letters and packages, she said.

"Of course, the secretaries are all nervous," she said. The UFT, representing teachers, paraprofessionals and nurses, is New York State United Teachers' largest affiliate.

The administration at New York University "sent out a couple of memos, and they are providing gloves, but people have to request them," said Trudy Rudnick, an organizer and former president of the United Staff Association at NYU. The NYSUT affiliate led by President Kathy Cruz represents clerical and other support staff, including mailroom workers, at the private university in Greenwich Village.

Secretaries and mail handlers have been instructed to examine items before opening them. Each mail sorter has a special bin for "anything that looks suspicious," she said.

Rudnick said NYU had two "scares" where offices had to be evacuated after unidentified powder raised concerns. One turned out to be Coffee Mate, the other Sweet 'n' Low.

"I don't think people are walking around nervous," she said, "but it just adds to the general level of stress here in New York City."

White House officials have tried to help people keep the anthrax fears in perspective, noting that thousands of people have been tested nationwide, but only a relative handful have tested positive for exposure. Still, they urge citizens and workers to take appropriate steps to be safe.

Wendy Hord, health and safety specialist for the statewide union, said NYSUT is referring people to the bio-terror prevention protocols put out jointly by the state Health Department and the State Police at www.nysegov.com/news/anthraxinfo.htm.

In general, the protocols say:

• Examine unopened envelopes for foreign matter or powder.

• Use a letter opener, not your hands.

• Open items with minimum movement, to avoid spilling contents.

Meanwhile, secretaries are operating in an atmosphere of "heightened security awareness," Berg said.

"I'm not saying we don't open (the mail), but we're very aware of the risk," she said. "We're looking at the mail, at the return addresses, if it's puffed up, all the kinds of things we've been told to look for. We're living in difficult times here."

- Ned R. Hoskin

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