IP: Postal concerns Questions surround start of mail irradiation PROCESS TO KILL ANTHRAX UNTESTED ON MANY ITEMS

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

BY GLENNDA CHUI AND BARBARA FEDER
Mercury News
As the U.S. Postal Service begins to sterilize letters and packages with 
radiation, it faces daunting questions of logistics and safety.
The agency has already started to treat a small, carefully selected volume 
of mail with radiation to kill possible anthrax and other biowarfare 
agents, and is making plans to greatly expand the effort.
But while irradiation technology has been around for years and is used on 
an array of consumer products from Band-Aids to baby-bottle nipples, it has 
never been tested on the motley assortment of objects that move through the 
U.S. mail.
Scientists say many of those items should not be exposed to the high dose 
of radiation that is needed to kill an anthrax spore, one of the tougher 
microbial life forms. At that level, radiation can rob meat of its flavor, 
discolor paper, glass and plastic, kill seeds, wreck photographic film and 
turn fruits and vegetables mushy.
While irradiation firms say they have tested some items that have come 
through without damage -- the list includes credit cards, videotapes and 
compact discs -- many others have not been tested, including most 
prescription drugs.
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http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/front/docs/radiation09.htm


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