diff --git a/waku/v2/api/publish/message_queue.go b/waku/v2/api/publish/message_queue.go
index ad153ff9c..03b7a16a6 100644
--- a/waku/v2/api/publish/message_queue.go
+++ b/waku/v2/api/publish/message_queue.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package publish
 import (
 	"container/heap"
 	"context"
+	"sync"
 
 	"github.com/waku-org/go-waku/waku/v2/protocol"
 )
@@ -59,6 +60,44 @@ func (pq *envelopePriorityQueue) Pop() any {
 	return item
 }
 
+type safeEnvelopePriorityQueue struct {
+	pq   envelopePriorityQueue
+	lock sync.Mutex
+}
+
+func (spq *safeEnvelopePriorityQueue) Push(task *envelopePriority) {
+	spq.lock.Lock()
+	defer spq.lock.Unlock()
+	heap.Push(&spq.pq, task)
+}
+
+func (spq *safeEnvelopePriorityQueue) Pop() *envelopePriority {
+	spq.lock.Lock()
+	defer spq.lock.Unlock()
+
+	if len(spq.pq) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	task := heap.Pop(&spq.pq).(*envelopePriority)
+	return task
+}
+
+// Len returns the length of the priority queue in a thread-safe manner
+func (spq *safeEnvelopePriorityQueue) Len() int {
+	spq.lock.Lock()
+	defer spq.lock.Unlock()
+
+	return spq.pq.Len()
+}
+
+func newSafePriorityQueue() *safeEnvelopePriorityQueue {
+	result := &safeEnvelopePriorityQueue{
+		pq: make(envelopePriorityQueue, 0),
+	}
+	heap.Init(&result.pq)
+	return result
+}
+
 // MessageQueue is a structure used to handle the ordering of the messages to publish
 type MessageQueue struct {
 	usePriorityQueue bool
@@ -66,7 +105,7 @@ type MessageQueue struct {
 	toSendChan                             chan *protocol.Envelope
 	throttledPrioritySendQueue             chan *envelopePriority
 	envelopeAvailableOnPriorityQueueSignal chan struct{}
-	envelopePriorityQueue                  envelopePriorityQueue
+	envelopePriorityQueue                  *safeEnvelopePriorityQueue
 }
 
 // NewMessageQueue returns a new instance of MessageQueue. The MessageQueue can internally use a
@@ -77,10 +116,9 @@ func NewMessageQueue(bufferSize int, usePriorityQueue bool) *MessageQueue {
 	}
 
 	if m.usePriorityQueue {
-		m.envelopePriorityQueue = make(envelopePriorityQueue, 0)
+		m.envelopePriorityQueue = newSafePriorityQueue()
 		m.throttledPrioritySendQueue = make(chan *envelopePriority, bufferSize)
 		m.envelopeAvailableOnPriorityQueueSignal = make(chan struct{}, bufferSize)
-		heap.Init(&m.envelopePriorityQueue)
 	} else {
 		m.toSendChan = make(chan *protocol.Envelope, bufferSize)
 	}
@@ -98,8 +136,7 @@ func (m *MessageQueue) Start(ctx context.Context) {
 				continue
 			}
 
-			heap.Push(&m.envelopePriorityQueue, envelopePriority)
-
+			m.envelopePriorityQueue.Push(envelopePriority)
 			m.envelopeAvailableOnPriorityQueueSignal <- struct{}{}
 
 		case <-ctx.Done():
@@ -150,7 +187,10 @@ func (m *MessageQueue) Pop(ctx context.Context) <-chan *protocol.Envelope {
 		select {
 		case _, ok := <-m.envelopeAvailableOnPriorityQueueSignal:
 			if ok {
-				ch <- heap.Pop(&m.envelopePriorityQueue).(*envelopePriority).envelope
+				e := m.envelopePriorityQueue.Pop()
+				if e != nil {
+					ch <- e.envelope
+				}
 			}
 
 		case envelope, ok := <-m.toSendChan: