[Scan-DC] irradiated mail

[Steve]

I worked at the Penatgon for many years until a few years ago.  After
9/11 everything we received was irradiated and x-rayed.  Normal paper
letter yellowed and became very fragile (crumbly).  Plus, the time to
get incoming mail trhough our central mailroom went from days to weeks
or more.   If I knew someone was going to mail me somthing to the
Pentagon, I gave them my home address and let them send it there.

While I understood the concern,  the method of handling it was draconian.

On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 2:09 PM, John B<scan-dc at djbitz.com> wrote:
> I wanted to look it up and here is what WikiPedia showed.
>
>
> Irradiated mail is mail that has been deliberately exposed to radiation,
> typically in an effort to disinfect it. The most notable instance of mail
> irradiation occurred in response to the 2001 anthrax attacks; the level of
> radiation chosen to kill anthrax spores was so high that it often changed
> the physical appearance of the mail, in some cases spectacularly so.
>
> The United States Postal Service began to irradiate mail in November 2001,
> in response to the discovery of large-scale contamination at several of its
> facilities that handled the letters that were sent in the attacks.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> [mailto:scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of b_thom at juno.com
> Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 12:33 PM
> To: Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [Scan-DC] irradiated mail
>
> **********
> From: xxx Security Center Advisory
> Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2009 12:48 PM
> To: zzz
> Subject: Incident Thursday, August 6, 2009
>
> This morning two Wage & Hour employees in [a federal building] came in
> contact with a piece of correspondence that caused them to break out in a
> rash.  The Federal Protective Service, MPD, and DC Fire Hazardous Materials
> detection officials responded and determined that there was nothing harmful
> in the letter, and that both employees were sensitive to irradiated mail.
> There is no cause for concern.
>
> If you have any questions, please contact....
> **********
>
> I asked someone what sensitivity to irradiated mail was. He didn't get it
> either.
>
>
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