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U$P$
#11
What Security Measures Does USPS® Have in Place for the Mailstream?

Is Mail X-Rayed?


Some of the mail that is sent through the United States Postal Service will pass through an X-Ray machine. There are no specific guidelines as to what may or may not be x-rayed, though mail sent to or through larger cities is likely to pass through an X-Ray machine.

If you have additional questions about X-Raying of items, contact your local Post Office.

Note: Marking a mailpiece "Do Not X-Ray" will not forgo the X-Raying of a mailpiece, and may result in the item being considered suspicious.
 
Is Mail Ever Irradiated or Sanitized?

The only mail currently being irradiated is mail sent to federal government agencies in Washington, DC, for ZIP Codes™ beginning with 202, 203, 204 and 205. Mail to these Zones is accumulated at a site near the Brentwood Road facility, and then shipped to New Jersey to be irradiated. This process in New Jersey takes approximately 24 hours. Mail can take three (3) to five (5) days longer to reach its destination than it did prior to irradiation, but is generally not more than three (3) days. Mail returned from New Jersey is aired out for a short period before it is processed at a postal location designated for sorting all Government mail. Once the United States Postal Service® provides mail to Congress and other affected government groups, some have their own mail rooms that do additional security checking before the mail is sorted and actually given to the recipients. Customers may send either Priority Mail® or Priority Mail Express™ items for expedited handling. This mail is not irradiated unless it is sent to the White House.

Mail may arrive in a plastic bag(gie) with a letter explaining the sanitization process (if the mail was sanitized). If not sanitized, the Postal Service™ "re-wraps" mail that has been harmed so that it can reach its destination. We use bags because it helped us ensure the letter would go with the mailpiece. For sanitized mail customers, the Postal Service™ is exploring various methods and hasn't yet made a final decision on whether to bag or not bag sanitized mail before it reaches its destination.

The Postal Service™ process for sanitizing the mail is a three-tier approach:
  • Immediate action - Using available off-site facilities to decontaminate.

  • Short-term action - Identifying key postal locations for the centralized processing and sanitization of mail.

  • Long-term action - Identifying and building into existing processes sanitization equipment that is completely safe for employees and customers.
 
What are the Effects of Irradiation?

Irradiation can have a negative effect on some plant, food, medical, and electronic devices. But most mail is not currently being irradiated. Only mail to federal government agencies in Washington, DC whose ZIP Code™ ranges begin with 202, 203, 204 and 205 are being irradiated.

While some people have reported mild symptoms after handling irradiated mail, substantial biological and medical testing has found no link between irradiated mail and those symptoms. Because the irradiation process can dry out paper and "yellow" the mail, there may be more paper dust or roughness associated with this mail. The irradiation process does not create any harmful radiation. The process was developed in consultation with scientists and experts both within and outside the federal government, led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Semper Fidelis

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USMC
Nemo me impune lacessit
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#12
Great info!
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#13
Wonder it the medicine can be affect it by this kind of X-Rayed .
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#14
I am learning a lot tonight about how careful consideration needs to everything .
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#15
(06-27-2018, 02:23 AM)anxietyguy Wrote: Wonder it the medicine can be affect it by this kind of X-Rayed .

I don't have much experience in this but have friends that do.  Those that are in pharma (real pharma lol) talk about all of the tests and experiments that have to be conducted on a new drug before it's introduced to market: manipulating temperatures, light sources, mixing said drug with other (normally compounding components) to see if something novel happens like degredation or the formation of something new, etc. 

Not that it hasn't been done before, but I think it's extremely rare for pharma companies to conduct radioactive research on a drug that's to be marketed and sold.  After all, it's meant to be ingested by a human or animal, not sent into space toward the sun or to be stored in a facility with Chernobyl scratched off the side of the building Wink .

It MAY show interesting results but if one thinks about the extra time and cost pharma would need to invest, they (I too) would say not worth it.

I doubt a simple x-ray would do much to the majority of drugs.  Maybe someone with more knowledge about x-rays and medicines could shed some light on any minor (reversible) reactions that might occur??
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#16
Great information IceWizard, thanks for taking the time to post.
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#17
Another thanks for the posted information. I feel as if the future is going to be bleak as technology advances.
(09-27-2018, 08:42 PM)Charon Wrote: You must learn to be responsible for your own health in this day and age.  The government does not care.

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#18
Here are the days that the USPS will be closed in 2019:

Tuesday, January 1                  New Year’s Day

Monday, January 21                 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Monday, February 18               President’s Day/Washington’s Birthday

Monday, May 27                       Memorial Day

Thursday, July 4                       Independence Day

Monday, September 2              Labor Day

Monday, October 14                Columbus Day

Monday, November 11             Veterans Day

Thursday, November 28          Thanksgiving Day

Wednesday, December 25      Christmas Day


Ice
Semper Fidelis

[Image: SyAa0qj.png]

USMC
Nemo me impune lacessit
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#19
I found a lot of useful information here about the shipping and tracking process. Thanks for posting!
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#20
This is new to me as well. Thanks for the info much appreciated!
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