Irradiated Mail

In 1988, more than half of approximately 200 employees working with composite plastic materials in one building of an aircraft manufacturing company reported CNS, respiratory, heart, and gastrointestinal symptoms. The employee response was dubbed aerospace syndrome. Sampling of the air in that building showed the presence of phenol (1.46), formaldehyde (0.35), styrene (2.95), methylene chloride (1.25), methanol (0.77), C9-C12 alkanes and aromatics (3.0-4.0), particulates, and epoxy resins, all at concentrations well below their TLVsJ51 The author of the study concluded that, like the employees exposed to irradiated mail, the aerospace workers responded to psychosocial factors in the workplace. 

Report of the General Counsel of the Office of Compliance, U.S. Congress. Investigation of the Health Effects of Irradiated Mail, Case Nos. OSH-0201,02, July 2, 2002. 

The levels of all tested chemicals were either at low levels or not found. It should be noted that it is probable that other molecular species were also present, as irradiation is known to cleave molecules and produce aldehydes, ketones, and other species that are largely hydrophilic. The study concluded that the health effects noted were not the result of exposures to emissions from irradiated mail, despite the fact that the employees had other clinically evident symptoms, including nose bleed, itching skin, and skin rashes. It is opined here that the low level mixture of lipophiles and hydrophiles was indeed responsible for the neurotoxic and other effects reported and that the impacts on workers were inappropriately ignored. 

Istituto per i Processi Chimico-Fisici Intense Laser Irradiation Laboratory 1 Via G. Moruzzi, 56124 Pisa, Italy E-Mail tonino ipcf.cnr.it... 

Common radioactive material in use today includes the alpha emitters Americium-241 and Plutonim-238 the beta emitters Phosporus-32 and Strontium-90 and the gamma emitters Cesium-137, Cobalt-60, and Iridium-192 [44], These materials are commonly used in smoke detectors, oil exploration, industrial gauges, food and mail irradiation, cancer therapy, industrial radiography, and in research laboratories. 

The irradiation of mail addressed to the Congress of the United States began in November 2001 following the discovery of anthrax spores in... 

Another potential application of radioactive species is in food preservation (Figure 18.4). It is well known that gamma rays can kill insects, larvae, and parasites such as trichina that cause trichinosis in pork. Radiation can also inhibit the sprouting of onions and potatoes. Perhaps most important from a commercial standpoint, it can extend the shelf lives of many foods for weeks or even months. Many chemicals used to preserve foods have later been shown to have adverse health effects, so irradiation is an attractive alternative. Finally, irradiation can destroy microorganisms such as E. coli (which explains its use in treating beef) and anthrax (which explains its use in sterilizing suspected mail). 

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