Re: irradiation of US mail

[William Prestwich <prestwic@MCMAIL.CIS.MCMASTER.CA>]

Dear Mark,

	Many seem dismissive of this on the grounds of feasibility and

cost. I am not so sure. If we can contemplate irradiating food stuffs the

idea doesn't seem so outlandish. If the economy grinds to a halt, whether

through justified fears or not, then the economic picture changes. It

seems as if all the mail goes through mechanical sortes, so I would think

sterilizers could be installed in them. One question raised was whether

this would work on dry material. It seems to me spices and Johnson and

Johnson gauzes are dry and it works on them. Presumably bacteria would

contain enough wateron their own, but a virus? Perhaps someone could

enlighten us.

Bill Prestwich

McMaster University

Hamilton, Ont.





************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.