perhaps there is a reason we should be concerned about anthrax HERE on the GPM:
US Postal Service Will Begin
To Irradiate Mail On November 1
Environment News Service.com
10-25-1
WASHINGTON, DC (ENS) - The U.S. Postal Service will begin irradiating mail
as of November 1 in an effort to wipe out deadly anthrax bacteria,
Postmaster General Jack Potter announced today. The irradiation is part of
a tough new set of measures Potter has introduced to protect postal workers
and the public from anthrax in the mail.
"This new technology won't be cheap, but we are committed to spending what
it takes to make the mail safe," Potter said. Irradiation, which consists
of bombardment of the mail with electrons, is already being used to kill
bacteria in some foods.
U.S. Postal Service employee sorts mail delivered to California's Superior
Court of Alameda County courthouse postal station. (Photo courtesy
courtinfo.ca.gov Superior Court of Alameda County)
The new postal safety measures are in response to anthrax mail
contamination that has been found on Capitol Hill, at an off-site White
House mail screening facility, and in a New Jersey mail sorting center.
Contaminated mail has sickened at least a dozen people and claimed the
lives of two postal workers at the Brentwood mail sorting center near
Washington, DC.
American flags at all postal facilities are flying at half staff beginning
today, until after the funerals of the two dead postal workers, Joseph
Curseen and Thomas Morris.
Potter said there are several other employees who may have anthrax. "We in
the Postal Service are at war," he said. "A war against terrorism. Our job
is to win that war." An investigation to find the source of the anthrax is
underway with a million dollar reward offered for information leading to
the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.
President George W. Bush assured the nation that he has not been
contaminated with anthrax. Strict security precautions have been in place
at the White House since September 11, and all environmental tests at the
White House have come back negative.
President George W. Bush meets with Director of the Office of Homeland
Security Tom Ridge (left), Postmaster General John Potter, and president of
the National Association of Letter Carriers Vince Sombratto (not shown) in
the Oval Office Tuesday. (Photo by Tina Hager courtesy the White House)
The mail screening facility where anthrax bacteria was found on a mail
slitting machine is located at a military installation several miles from
the White House. It has been closed for further testing and
decontamination. All employees at the site are being tested for exposure to
the disease, as are mail workers in the White House complex itself.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, the President said he cannot link the
anthrax incidents with the September 11 terrorist plane strikes on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
"Well, we don't have any hard evidence, but there's no question that
anybody who would mail anthrax with the attempt to harm American citizens
is a terrorist. And there's no question that al Qaeda is a terrorist
organization. ... So it wouldn't surprise me that they're involved with
this. But I have no direct evidence."
The House and Senate are both in session this week following last week's
anthrax scare during which the House was closed for environmental testing
and several Senate offices were closed.
At a press briefing on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle
said that many of the Senate office buildings that were closed following
the October 15 discovery of an anthrax-laced letter addressed to him will
be opened in the "not too distant future." But, he said, "we may have to
quarantine and keep sealed my office and the mail room," where the
contaminated letter was found.
The Foundation for Food Irradiation Education (FFIE), a radiation
processing industry association, says bacteria such as anthrax that are
present in or on mail can be destroyed by irradiation treatment.
Vincent Sombrotto is president of the 312,500 member National Association
of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO. (Photo courtesy <http://www.nalc.orgNALC)
The U.S. Postal Service delivers about 208 billion pieces of mail each
year, 90 percent of it to and from businesses. The FFIE says there are many
points in the mail processing system at which the application of radiation
might be useful - the local post office, central distribution centers,
points of delivery to sensitive locations such as government or news
organizations, and points of delivery from mass mailing locations such as
catalog warehouses.
Three different irradiation technologies exist using three different kinds
of rays: gamma rays, electron beams and x-rays, according to a fact sheet
issued by the Centers for Disease Control, a federal agency.
Gamma rays are produced either by a radioactive form of the element cobalt
(Cobalt 60) or of the element cesium (Cesium 137). When not in use, the
radioactive element is stored in a pool of water which absorbs the
radiation. To irradiate food or some other product, the source is pulled up
out of the water into a chamber with massive concrete walls that keep any
rays from escaping.
The electron beam is a stream of high energy electrons, propelled out of an
electron gun, a larger version of the device in the back of a TV tube that
propels electrons into the TV screen, making it light up. An e-beam
generator can be simply switched on or off. No radioactivity is involved.
Some shielding is necessary to protect workers from the electron beam, but
not the concrete walls required to stop gamma rays.
The newest technology is X-ray irradiation. A beam of electrons is directed
at a thin plate of gold or other metal, producing a stream of X-rays coming
out the other side. Like cobalt gamma rays, X-rays can pass through thick
materials, and require heavy shielding for safety. Like e-beams, the
machine can be switched on and off, and no radioactive substances are
involved. Four commercial X-ray irradiation units have been built in the
world since 1996.
It will take time to design and install irradiation systems for use in
postal facilities application, and postal service officials have not
indicated which irradiation method will be used. Meanwhile, Potter said,
the post office is changing its cleaning methods to protect against anthrax.
"We are changing the procedures we use to clean mail sorting equipment," he
said. "We are no longer using air gusts to scatter dust and other
particles, and instead are vacuuming equipment in a way that absorbs dust
and other particles. We are directing postal facilities to use stronger,
antibacterial cleaning chemicals as part of their routine maintenance."
Postal workers are being provided with masks and gloves to wear if they
wish. Field command centers have been set up so employees can notify the
centers if they seek admission to a hospital so postal officials can
quickly identify any pattern of medical problems that might develop.
Anthrax information from the Centers for Disease Control is online at:
bt.cdc.gov
ens-news.com |
