I got this from the "list of botanical gardens and arboreta staff interested in plant collections" or AABGACOL@LIST.MSU.EDU

Reply to post by John Paul Sanborn, on November 30, 2001 at 15:41:49:

Thankyou John for that warning. I just forwarded the information to Dr Elaine Ingham who does a lot of work on soil bacteria in her lab. Obviously, any samples sent there which were irradiated would be messed up,

James

Reply to post by John Paul Sanborn, on November 30, 2001 at 15:41:49:

I got thein from AABGACOL@LIST.MSU.EDU on 12/10/01

This was just in the e-mail Herb Growing & Marketing Newsletter:
--The U.S. Postal Service is going for a 19% increase for next year.
They'll get it because of the additional costs they've incurred with the
anthrax problems. They've also decided to get out of the mail irradiation
business (after spending $40 million on equipment), planning instead to
focus on detection of anthrax spores and other biological agents, postal
industry and other sources said. Hard hit by the recession and declining
mail volumes, USPS is exploring whether another government agency may be
better suited to the costly and time-consuming task of irradiating the mail,
industry officials said. When the anthrax attacks took place in October,
shutting down much of Capitol Hill temporarily, the Postal Service scrambled
to find a way to ensure mail was free of anthrax spores and turned to
irradiation technology. It signed contracts with firms in Lima, Ohio, and in
Bridgewater, N.J., to use their technology to irradiate the mail. USPS also
purchased eight machines from Titan Corp. for $40 million, which have not
yet been installed. Since then, postal officials have learned that zapping
the mail can damage some contents and significantly slow delivery. "Postal
officials have made abundantly clear that they do not like the option of
radiating mail and would like to take whatever steps they can to get out of
the mail radiation business," said Gene Del Polito, president of the
Association for Postal Commerce, who most recently spoke with high-level
postal officials about this issue last week. Another source familiar with
the thinking of top postal officials said they do not see sanitizing the
mail as part of their core business. "They are exploring if there's not a
better government agency to handle this type of activity," the source said.
"Any rational individual would ask themselves that."

Reply to post by John Paul Sanborn, on November 30, 2001 at 15:41:49:

Heavy doses they're talking about. I had six exposures past the 3Gy levels - total body irradiation in preparation for bone marrow transplant. It's more than deadly, burns like hell, and I don't recommend it to anyone, even the mail.

Biological samples should ALWAYS be indicated on the exterior container.

Reply to post by reed, on November 30, 2001 at 15:41:49:

I read on article that said they wer useing such a high does that the prosses was producing enough CO to give poastal handlers headaches!

Reply to post by John Paul Sanborn, on November 30, 2001 at 15:41:49:

Paper is yellowed, films are melted, gem stones change color, memory storage is damaged...

USPS reply-"we're working on getting the dosage right."

Reply to post by jps, on November 30, 2001 at 15:41:49:

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