Effects of e-beam mail sanitizing process on commercial electronics

Summary form only given. Following the tragic terrorist attacks of September 11^th, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax bio-terrorism attacks, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has instituted a process to sanitize mail passing through key mail handling centers. The process is based on the use of high doses of ionizing radiation to kill any anthrax spores that may be present. Electronics are among a wide group of items that are routinely sent through the mail and are known to be sensitive to ionizing radiation. The authors summarize the procedure now used by the USPS in the context of the sensitivity of commercial electronics to ionizing radiation. Proposed alternate processes to authenticate mail originators to mitigate the need for irradiation are also discussed.