Diffuse Security Threats: Technologies for Mail Sanitization Exist, but Challenges Remain Page: 2 of 50
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&GAO
Accountability * Integrity * Reliability
United States General Accounting Office
Washington, DC 20548
April 23, 2002
The Honorable Henry A. Waxman
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Government Reform
House of Representatives
The Honorable Danny K. Davis
Ranking Minority Member
Subcommittee on Civil Service, Census, and
Agency Organization
Committee on Government Reform
House of Representatives
The attacks of September 11, 2001, and recent anthrax exposures have
heightened long-standing concerns about the proliferation of biological
weapons and the United States's ability to quickly respond to exposure to
such weapons. In particular, the United States needs to identify
technologies that can be used to protect against biological weapons, such
as anthrax, without harming humans. In light of these concerns, you
requested that we identify the technologies that the United States Postal
Service (USPS) is currently using to sanitize the mail. In addition, you
asked that we identify the major issues associated with these technologies,
including current applications, occupational safety matters, effects on
materials, testing, operations and processing capabilities, costs, and
implementation.
To address these objectives, we met with officials from USPS, the Armed
Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, and industry experts; reviewed
literature and documents on commercially available ionizing radiation
technologies; and visited existing irradiation facilities in Lima, Ohio, and
Bridgeport, New Jersey. In addition, we reviewed the strengths and
limitations for the forms of ionizing radiation technologies we assessed.
We also analyzed acquisition and life-cycle costs for ionizing radiation
technologies. However, due to the proprietary, competition- sensitive
nature of these costs, we did not include them in this report.
We performed our work from November 2001 through March 2002, in
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.GAO-02-365 Mail Sanitization
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United States. General Accounting Office. Diffuse Security Threats: Technologies for Mail Sanitization Exist, but Challenges Remain, report, April 23, 2002; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc301937/m1/2/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.