NEW YORK - The great divide between the company mailroom and the executive suite is the stuff of business legend. But the anthrax scare could narrow that chasm considerably.

Scores of companies have made largely cosmetic changes in their mail-handling operations in recent days, distributing latex gloves, surgical masks, protective glasses and stern instructions to the workers who sort through letters and packages.

But companies also have begun a longer-term examination of mail handling, signaling a new interest by executives in a subject many have all but ignored. Some firms are talking about changes in coming months that could include setting up centralized offsite mail-screening depots to erect another barrier against postal terrorism.

"There are many CEOs who assume this is something that they can delegate to somebody pretty far down in the organization, but it's clearly received a higher degree of attention from somebody higher up than it did a week ago or a month ago," said Michael Critelli, chairman and CEO of Stamford, Conn.-based Pitney Bowes Inc., which manages 1,300 corporate mail sites.

In the past week, employees in the offices of both NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw and CBS news anchor Dan Rather have been diagnosed with anthrax. The suspected source: mailed letters.

At American Electric Power Inc., a Columbus, Ohio-based utility that processes 2.5 million mailed-in checks each month, employees are now being instructed to scrutinize envelopes for ones that weigh slightly more or that are in any way misshapen.

Most of the nation's major credit card issuers have issued latex gloves, masks and protective eyewear to workers handling correspondence and bill payments, and they, too, have been holding training sessions about how to spot suspicious envelopes, said Catherine Pulley, a spokeswoman for the American Bankers Association.

Critelli said a handful of companies that contract with Pitney Bowes have asked to have their mail quarantined in a secure area cut off from air circulation systems.

Executives at companies including The Spiegel Group, The Coca-Cola Co., Walt Disney, and other firms say they also have been re-examining mail operations, though they declined to provide specifics, citing security concerns.

"We don't have any reason to believe that we're any kind of target, but obviously in this environment, we want to take every kind of precaution," said Debbie Koopman, a spokeswoman for Spiegel, a catalog sales and retail store operator.

Some companies are trying to avoid mail altogether, encouraging consumers to use electronic bill payment systems instead. Pat Hemlepp, a spokesman for American Electric Power, said the focus on electronic payments is likely to increase now.

"Nobody's looked at it from a safety or security standpoint before," Hemlepp said.

Another sector of the business community has been alarmed by the anthrax scare for a different reason: The companies rely on consumers opening and responding to mailed solicitations.

The Direct Marketing Association this week urged its members to take steps to ease customer concerns, including delaying campaigns, using e-mail to let consumers know a letter will be coming and avoiding the use of plain, hand-prepared envelopes.

"I think all direct marketers are concerned right now," said Christopher Irving, a spokesman for Publishers Clearing House.