Kodak just released the following announcement:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/aboutKodak/sanitize.shtml
It is quoted below:
US Mail to be sterilized: Implications for Kodak and the photo industry
On Saturday, Oct. 27, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced
a contract with the Titan Corporation of San Diego for the purchase of
eight electron beam sterilization systems for use in sanitizing the US
Mail. USPS also has an option for 12 additional systems.
According to Postmaster General Jack Potter, one of the first areas to
receive the equipment will be the greater Washington Metropolitan Area,
when delivery begins next month. However, USPS also contracted to use an
existing Titan facility, beginning immediately.
Kodak is working with the USPS and various trade associations to better
understand the full extent of the situation as it may apply to unexposed
and unprocessed film, since film can be damaged by ionizing radiation.
Kodak will issue further statements as new information becomes available.
Eastman Kodak Company
Irradiating the U.S. mails in this manner is a horrendously over-expensive
knee-jerk reaction fraught with all manner of unintended consequences which
go beyond unprocessed photographic film. It extends into electronics,
batteries and some medicines (which are basically chemicals) to mention
only a few items. In short, anything that can be ionized will be, and if
it is altered or damaged by high ionization levels (chemically,
electronically or otherwise), it will be. Misguided is an understatement.
I'm calling my congressman's local office tomorrow. Wringing one's hands
through an email list won't solve the problem. Contacting government
officials (congressmen and senators) and asking:
(1) What studies have been done to identify anything and everything that
will be affected by this manner of irradiation?
(2) When will clearly understood and appropriate warnings be issued to the
general public, along with the timetable of when it will be implemented?
Then express concern over the cost-benefit of irradiating the U.S. mails in
this manner, especially without any studies to identify all the unintended
consequences that will occur as a result. If you don't know who your
Congressman is, or the phone number or mail address, you can easily find it
here:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
-- John
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