Killing mailed seeds
Objavljeno: 01 Maj 2005, 19:14
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Killing mailed seeds
In late October, the US Postal Service announced the $40 million purchase of eight electronic sterilization systems from Titan Corporation. Wil Williams, a spokesperson for Titan, told ABC News that each machine can treat about 1,000 pounds of mail per hour. Williams also warned that the system could ruin unexposed film, harm electronic equipment, damage plants and inhibit seeds from germinating. "The point is not how the technology could damage mail, but how it could secure US mail," he added hopefully.
Titan's "surebeam" system uses electricity to generate a beam of electrons which disrupts cell structures and breaks down DNA. The system also allows the beam of electrons to be changed into x-rays for deeper penetration. The system is about a hundred million times more powerful than an airport security x-ray machine.
Titan has been marketing its surebeam system for food irradiation, claiming that it eliminates bacteria and kills or sterilizes insects. Although the system can apply lower doses which would affect only bacteria, company officials have claimed that the dosage levels required to cleanse the mail will also kill seeds and bulbs.
In a prepared statement, the Postal Service said it is doing research "to ensure that the technology used for sanitizing equipment does not cause other problems by damaging sensitive material."
ABC News quoted seed and film shippers as being worried about how this process would affect their products. A spokesperson for Burpee Seeds, America's largest seed shipping company, suggested that they could be forced to use a private carrier for their seed deliveries.
The website of the Professional Photographers of America advises its members that it "has not received any concrete assurances from the Post Office that the new equipment will not harm photographic film." The same article cites an Airborne Express representative saying that since their shipments are traceable back to the shipper, cargo carriers would not be a popular option for bioterrorists. However, none of the major express delivery companies would commit to not implementing sterilization procedures in the future.
Cannabis Culture publisher Marc Emery, one of the world's largest distributors of mail-order marijuana seeds, explained that the future situation was uncertain. "We don't know exactly what is going to happen. Of course we are making every effort to ensure that our business will survive, but at this point I cannot make any predictions. I encourage anyone thinking of growing their own marijuana in the future to order their seeds now while it is still possible to do so."
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2215.html
Killing mailed seeds
In late October, the US Postal Service announced the $40 million purchase of eight electronic sterilization systems from Titan Corporation. Wil Williams, a spokesperson for Titan, told ABC News that each machine can treat about 1,000 pounds of mail per hour. Williams also warned that the system could ruin unexposed film, harm electronic equipment, damage plants and inhibit seeds from germinating. "The point is not how the technology could damage mail, but how it could secure US mail," he added hopefully.
Titan's "surebeam" system uses electricity to generate a beam of electrons which disrupts cell structures and breaks down DNA. The system also allows the beam of electrons to be changed into x-rays for deeper penetration. The system is about a hundred million times more powerful than an airport security x-ray machine.
Titan has been marketing its surebeam system for food irradiation, claiming that it eliminates bacteria and kills or sterilizes insects. Although the system can apply lower doses which would affect only bacteria, company officials have claimed that the dosage levels required to cleanse the mail will also kill seeds and bulbs.
In a prepared statement, the Postal Service said it is doing research "to ensure that the technology used for sanitizing equipment does not cause other problems by damaging sensitive material."
ABC News quoted seed and film shippers as being worried about how this process would affect their products. A spokesperson for Burpee Seeds, America's largest seed shipping company, suggested that they could be forced to use a private carrier for their seed deliveries.
The website of the Professional Photographers of America advises its members that it "has not received any concrete assurances from the Post Office that the new equipment will not harm photographic film." The same article cites an Airborne Express representative saying that since their shipments are traceable back to the shipper, cargo carriers would not be a popular option for bioterrorists. However, none of the major express delivery companies would commit to not implementing sterilization procedures in the future.
Cannabis Culture publisher Marc Emery, one of the world's largest distributors of mail-order marijuana seeds, explained that the future situation was uncertain. "We don't know exactly what is going to happen. Of course we are making every effort to ensure that our business will survive, but at this point I cannot make any predictions. I encourage anyone thinking of growing their own marijuana in the future to order their seeds now while it is still possible to do so."
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2215.html