The financially ailing U.S. Postal Service would have to spend about $5 billion over 10 years to protect the mails from anthrax and other biological agents.
“It is now clear that such an enormous undertaking is not imminent because of the questions about the deployment and use or irradiation equipment,” Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who released the report wrote to Postmaster General John Potter.
The report, prepared by the General Accounting Office for Waxman and other Democratic members of the House Government Reform Committee, examined the technological premises and logistic hurdles the USPS faces if it were to irradiate every piece of mail in the system.
The investigative arm of Congress estimated that the equipment and related costs for irradiating mail nationwide could cost up to $4.2 billion, adding that the estimate does not include all costs of adapting the postal service’s processes to such a large-scale program.
In addition, installing radiation technology will require extensive planning, training, interaction with regulatory authorities and environmental safeguards, the GAO said.
The report also pointed out that irradiation kill plants, alter drugs, destroys laboratory samples sent through the mail and makes film unusable.
While the report noted that there are a number of unanswered questions about the deployment of irradiation technology that need to be resolved before there are any more purchases of irradiation equipment, it also indicated that irradiation of the mail “may be just a small part of the postal service’s long-term strategy to enhance mail security.”
Soon after the anthrax attacks last fall, the USPS, which began irradiating mail at selected locations nationwide, reportedly was considering the idea of irradiating all of the mail at an estimated cost of $3 billion.
Network
