BLOOMINGTON - Figures in biohazard suits scrubbed each other in a parking lot while evacuation team members guarded gates nearby.

Police officers watched other exits, while fire officials helped with decontamination and Red Cross members waited to give food and water. Public health officials waited to give antibiotics to those potentially contaminated, and county and federal authorities planned how to safely decontaminate the area.

The drill Wednesday afternoon simulated the discovery of anthrax at Bloomington's U.S. Postal Service processing and distribution facility, 1511 E. Empire St. Despite a sign that indicated it was only a test, the postal inspectors in full-body hazardous materials suits drew stares from passing motorists and nearby residents on Fairway Drive.

Sue Litterly, spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service, said the service is practicing biohazard drills nationwide so that, "in the event of an emergency, we'll have our procedure and our protocols in place to keep our employees safe."

She said postal authorities are considering having such local drills twice annually.

In the drill, a biohazard detection system found anthrax in the mail, and postal authorities were evacuating the building, Litterly said. Postal inspectors would arrive, enter with biohazard suits, remove a cartridge from the detection system, scrub down for decontamination and take the sample to a lab in Springfield, she said.

Despite the drill, most employees were still processing mail at the facility Wednesday afternoon.

U.S. Postal Inspector Wanda Shipp said inspector teams from Springfield to Milwaukee would respond to such a discovery. Many of those would keep people away from the building and quarantine those who had been inside, she said.

With about 150 employees and a facility of that size, employees would likely be quarantined about five hours for decontamination and medication, Shipp said.

Bloomington Fire Capt. Eric Vaughn said his department was present because firefighters would be called to assess the scene before postal inspectors entered the building with their own team.

"We would not make entry, we would provide decontamination for employees coming out," Vaughn said. "And then we would also be here to provide support for the postal service entry team that would go in and actually handle the incident."

At the post office on Towanda Avenue, McLean County Health Department employees simulated distributing antibiotics to post office employees after they were bused to a separate site, said spokeswoman Bree Davis. Department officials also would tell the public of any concerns beyond the facility and would help determine if anyone left the site and potentially contaminated others, she said.

Litterly said she has been amazed at the cooperation in such drills, but timing, if anything, needs work. That includes times taken to set up a decontamination tent or when American Red Cross members enter with food and water.

The Chicago division of the postal service, which covers Bloomington and Springfield, is one of leading divisions that practice these drills, Shipp said.

"We're having frequent drills to make sure people are aware of what happens, what to do in working with our response team," Shipp said, later adding the drills have increased awareness and greatly improved responses.