Article: United States Postal Service: Information on the Irradiation of Federal Mail in the Washington, D.C., Area.

GAO-08-938R July 31, 2008

In October 2001, spores of the deadly bacterium anthrax were found in mail sent to members of the news media and congressional leaders. In all, 22 people were infected with anthrax and 5 people died, including 2 postal workers. The United States Postal Service (Service) took a variety of steps to protect people from biohazards in the mail. For example, the Service began contracting for the irradiation of mail to recipients at the Congress, the White House, and federal agencies with specific ZIP Codes (20201 through 20597) in the Washington, D.C., area (D.C. federal mail). The irradiation process uses either a high-energy electron beam or X-rays to ...

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