At 21:02 2/10/02, Mark Lloyd wrote:
whoo boy! Seems some eco-freaks are spreading disinformation again. The
radiation used in irradiation is a cousin to light. It is a ray that can
do massive damage to you or germs when you are directly exposed, but like
light when the ray is blocked or turned off its gone and there is no
residue. The dangerous stuff is called alpha and beta and neutron
radiation. These are actual particles that last in the atmosphere, but can
be blocked very easily. Mail is just exposed very briefly to a source of
gamma radiation which kills the germs (or destroys the film). Nothing even
remotely radioactive is left by the process. So whatever is making these
guys sick its not radiation poisoning.
Mark Lloyd
Mark and Winsor,
I don't think you understand the exact nature of the Atlas SureBeam
technology being used in the USPS machines. They're *not* the simple
"gamma ray" devices Mark has somehow been led to believe they are. The key
words in the descriptions written by SureBeam's marketing 'droids and other
technical descriptions about them are **Electron**Beam**
Also important is something the SureBeam Public Relations Department
*doesn't* state. It allows readers lacking basic knowledge about nuclear
physics to draw misleading conclusions. The fundamental principle of
operation that kills bacteria with these devices relies on the very high
energy electron beam, *not* the X-Rays. "X-Rays" and other forms of
electro-magnetic radiation, including Gamma Rays, are merely *byproducts*
of extremely high energy electron beam bombardment. The reason they
mention the "X-Rays" is because The General Public thinks of them as a
well-understood, relatively "safe" technology without residual side
effects; the same reason they also mention using electricity! DOH!!! An
electron beam *is* electricity, but it's *not* the same as the electricity
that appears at your wall outlets. The *only* thing in common is the
electrons.
Sugar coated marketing 'droid page for SureBeam:
http://www.surebeamcorp.com/how_it_works.html
More About How It Works (what SureBeam isn't telling you):
Extremely high energy electron beam *bombardment* is the atomic level
equivalent of a "gattling gun" (e.g. "Vulcan"). It doesn't leave residual
radiation behind as Proton or Neutron bombardment would (atomic level
"howitzers"). Those create radioactive isotopes by adding Protons or
Neutrons to nuclei; the resisual radioactivity afterward is decay back to
the more stable nuclei that existed prior to bombardment. You're right
that they're not getting sick from "nuclear radiation" (alpha, beta, etc.)
However, the HE E-Beam is *not* the same as irradiating with *only* X-Rays,
Gamma Rays or other E-M energy that propagates at the speed of light. In
fact, if that's all these machines did (X-Rays and Gamma Rays) they would
not kill bacteria very well, if at all. These machines are much, much
different from the X-Ray machine in your dentist's office. The stream of
electrons in the electron beam is what kills bacteria effectively by
blasting apart the long organic chemical chains that comprise DNA. The
trouble is, it is indiscriminate about the chemical compounds being blasted
apart (other than bigger/longer molecules, in general, being more
susceptible; perhaps an overly broad and simplistic generality). In other
words, it's not just the DNA that's torn apart. Many, many other molecules
are also. When a molecule is broken apart, the chemical substance it once
was is gone, and is replaced with two other chemical substances.
The basic problem with the USPS "irradiation" scheme (a misnomer; it's
actually particle bombardment) being pursued is its very badly misguided
and seriously flawed rush to instant implementation with Scientific and
Engineering Gross Negligence of the First Order. ABSOLUTELY ZERO "Good
Practice" or "Due Diligence" was conducted. It's a classic example of mass
paranoia and mass hysteria causing useless and very expensive mass panic
with deleterious results. IMO the "cure" is much, much, much worse than
the "disease."
Based on my knowledge of what happens with high energy Electron bombardment
of various materials, I predicted we would see these kinds of results
months ago. Depending on the materials being bombarded, the energy levels
involved can chemically alter them, heat them to high temperatures, and
cause them to outgas (emit a chemical gas) that would not otherwise occur
in "normal use." While the General Public could not possibly be expected
to know these things, anyone with a BS in General Phyics could predict it
with near certainty. I am anything but surprised that USPS workers are
getting sick from handling mail that's been bombarded. I wouldn't want to
breathe outgassing from manmade materials; the great bulk of the gasses
emitted are toxic, some are very toxic. I also suspect they may be
ingesting chemically altered packaging materials by one of two
methods: through skin (less likely) or from skin (hands) to mouth, eyes,
etc. (more likely).
-- John
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