Postal Service revises mailing standards for certain substances

The U.S. Postal Service today released a temporary final rule updating its Hazardous, Restricted and Perishable Mail regulations for Category B infectious substances “to support the rapid deployment” of COVID-19 diagnostic tests through the mail during the public health emergency. In addition to updated packaging instructions, all shippers of COVID-19-related Infectious Substances Category B UN3373 must obtain authorization from the Postal Service prior to mailing, the rule states. “These measures are necessary to ensure that diagnostic kits potentially containing Category B Infectious Substances are packaged, marked and labelled properly to ensure safety and containment throughout transport.”