WASHINGTON — Grappling with the threat of bioterrorism, the head of the Postal Service vowed Monday the mail would be delivered just as it has been for the last two centuries. “We're not going to be defeated,” Postmaster General John E. Potter said.

        The post office is looking to technology like that used to sanitize food as a way to block the movement of anthrax in the mail. And the agency will ask Congress for financial help to cope with declining mail volumes and the costs of dealing with anthrax, Potter said. The post office is supposed to pay its own expenses from fees charged for moving the mail.

        Potter told a news conference that postal engineers are visiting manufacturers to determine what sanitization equipment is available and how quickly it can be obtained for postal use.

        He said they were looking at equipment that sanitizes fruit and meat to determine what will work best on mail.

        “We're very comfortable it's safe,” Potter said. “We are going to introduce technology so that we can ... sanitize the mail. Obviously that won't happen overnight, so we want people to be vigilant.”

        Millions of postcards are being mailed this week, advising people what should make them suspicious about a letter or parcel, and what they should do about it. Officials said the cards should be arriving at American homes over the next eight days.

        “We are engaging the American public, we want all of America to help us,” Potter said. “It's important that everybody who sees something suspicious lets us know.”

        He said the agency will not curtail mail deliveries.

        “We're not going to be defeated. We have delivered some 20 billion (pieces of mail) since Sept. 11,” he said.

        Vincent Sombrotto, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, added: “We cannot let fear be our constant companion. We will overcome.”

        Postal Service spokesman Greg Frey explained that technology to sanitize mail is being considered for selected locations. He said the technology would probably be similar to that used in the food-processing industry.

        It was not immediately clear how much financial assistance the post office would seek.

        Even before the Sept. 11 attacks, the agency was facing a loss of $1.6 billion this fiscal year despite a rate increase in January and another, smaller one in July. The Postal Service has applied to the independent Postal Rate Commission for a 3-cent increase in the price of a stamp, but even if it was approved, it would not take effect until next year.

        Since the attacks, the agency has been faced with millions of dollars in costs to repair damaged facilities, reroute mail and inspect and sanitize facilities. Mail volume has declined, reducing income.

        “Other businesses have gotten relief in the form of funding, and we certainly think, that while we are not necessarily a business, ... we'll ask for help,” Potter said on NBC's “Today.”

        The airline and insurance industries are among those that have sought financial help from Congress since the attacks.

        Although part of the federal government, the Postal Service does not receive tax money for operations. It is required to pay its own expenses and to break even over time.

        Two Washington postal employees have been diagnosed with inhaled anthrax and two others who died Monday had similar symptoms. Several other cases are under investigation.

        Potter said the Postal Service was increasing security at its mail facilities.

        “We are taking it to the next level, beginning to introduce technology so we can sanitize mail” before it's handled, he said. Although gloves and face masks are being made available, Postal Service workers are not being ordered to wear them.

        Jeffrey T. Barach, vice president for special projects at the National Food Processors Association, said the types of radiation used on food would be well-suited to sterilizing mail.

        Radiation beams can come from several sources and are effective in killing bacteria, he said. They do not leave any residue and do not make the food or other items radioactive, he said.

        The radiation is effective in killing bacteria, Barach said, and at a stronger power it can also kill spores such as anthrax.

        One of the major companies in the food sanitizing business is the SureBeam Corp. in San Diego.

        Spokesman Will Williams said the process uses a focused beam of electrons to kill bacteria and other pathogens. The beam can quickly pass through envelopes and other packaging and can be used on a moving assembly line.

        The same technology is used by Titan Corp., SureBeam's parent company, to sterilize medical equipment.

        Williams declined to discuss whether his company has been contacted by postal officials.

        He said the equipment can be installed in existing facilities and that it could sterilize mail at a cost of about a penny per letter.

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