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The US Postal Service has a plan to
treat mail with "e-beam" technology. The process
involves the use of an electronic beam, a nonradioactive but
highly accelerated stream of electrons sprayed from an "electron
gun" to cleanse loads of mail of dangerous substances,
including anthrax.
SureBeam Corporation, the main supplier of this technology,
has publicly stated that its irradiation technology is capable
of killing the anthrax bacteria.
SureBeam spokesperson Wil Williams told
CBS MarketWatch on Oct. 10: "Anthrax is nothing more
than a bacteria, and SureBeam will kill it. If Anthrax was
being dispatched through the U.S. mail, for example, we can
zap it -- it's well within the capability of the technology."
Williams' quote was repeated in the San
Diego Union-Tribune the next day.
SureBeam repeated the claim to KGTV Channel
10 in San Diego, adding that the company's irradiation equipment
could be built into central mail processing centers, and that
smaller systems could be placed in government or business
offices.
SureBeam has made these claims without
any supporting scientific evidence that the company's "electron-beam"
irradiation equipment is capable of killing the anthrax bacteria
or its spores.
In fact, radiation
is ineffective against anthrax spores, called "endospores,"
which are surrounded by numerous thick layers of material
including protein and calcium. According to Medical Microbiology,
edited by Samuel Baron, M.D., Professor and Chairman of the
Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University
of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston:
"The spores are resistant
to heat, cold, radiation, desiccation and disinfectants."
Additionally, according to the Official
Anthrax Information Web Site maintained by the US Department
of Defense: "Anthrax spores can remain dormant for decades."
Anthrax is so resistant to radiation that
when designing an anti-ballistic missile system, the Clinton
administration reportedly decided against using nuclear weapons
specifically because they would be unable to defend against
an incoming missile carrying even a few hundred pounds of
anthrax spores.
Given the level of fear that has gripped
the nation, unsubstantiated claims about a technology's ability
to kill anthrax are irresponsible and dangerous. Claims of
this magnitude should be supported by peer-reviewed scientific
research.
It should be noted that SureBeam consistently
advertises its linear accelerator irradiation process as "electronic
pasteurization," despite the fact that the US Department
of Agriculture has called such characterizations "misleading."
The Federal Trade Commission is currently
conducting an inquiry into SureBeam's advertising practices.
Additionally, SureBeam has hinted that
its irradiation process can kill the prion that causes Mad
Cow Disease, when in fact, the prion -- like anthrax spores
-- is resistant to radiation.
Public
Citizen October 18, 2001
Washington Post October 25, 2001 Page A01
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