BS: The Good News About Anthrax

Subject: RE: BS: The Good News About Anthrax
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Oct 01 - 11:19 AM

That's a riot--

Hippies Kill Anthrax, Save Free World.

Far out!

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: The Good News About Anthrax
From: Gary T
Date: 17 Oct 01 - 11:11 AM

Heat lamps give off infrared light, which is on the opposite side of the visible light spectrum from ultraviolet light. UV is found in the "black lamps" that were popular during the 60's and 70's.

Subject: RE: BS: The Good News About Anthrax
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Oct 01 - 11:05 AM

Well, I started thinking about this as I contemplated how a worker would feel, who is assigned to open all the company mail-- you want me to WHAT?? What are the practical ramifications of all this? You know-- such as, "Will it be workman's comp if you get sick in the Capitol?"

This got me started on wondering how widely this could actually spread in a land blessed with a people of such ingenuity-- will we win the effort against terror with our minds?

Next I went to see what Red Cross was saying... and found that item above.

I was picturing a box with those insertable arm-hand gloves, to open mail in a sterile fashion... wondered what would need to be happening in the box to zap the bugs-- and presto.

Is it really that simple? Will we all have lightboxes like that, on our desks?

I had also thought, well, what if the airplane hijackers had carried anthrax on board too, to be dispersed by the explosion? I felt a lot better when I saw that sun and rain kill it.

My point is that it is SO EASY to get scared-- but we can choose to de-mystify that which is used to try to scare us. Cuz we are actually pretty damn smart when it comes to our survival.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: The Good News About Anthrax
From: Jeri
Date: 17 Oct 01 - 10:55 AM

UV doesn't travel through solid objects such as envelopes. I think a little bit may get in through windows, but not a significant amount. It's light, although a frequency of light we can't see. Full-spectrum lamps, like the ones used for plants, give off UV radiation/light.

UV also kills the tuberculosis bug, and UV lamps are sometimes used in hospitals. They could use the lamps in Post Offices and mail rooms in the areas where mail was stored in bulk, but it would only kill the bacteria that got out of the envelopes and wasn't buried at the bottom of a pile. I also don't know how long it takes to kill the bacteria - seconds, minutes...days?

Subject: The Good News About Anthrax
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Oct 01 - 10:39 AM

No, I haven't lost my mind and I'm not trolling.

I just read this:

Effective dispersal of anthrax is difficult due to the fact that the bacteria cannot survive exposure to ultraviolet light or direct moisture.

OK, UV-- sunlight? It's vulnerable to good old sunlight?

We could stop this whole mailed-anthrax program simply by treating mail with UV, as some of us treat our water in the country? How hard would that be to do? Are heat lamps UV? Can we use the same lamp that hatches chicks, to treat mail?

What else do we know about anthrax that can help us stay calm (and think clearly) as we hear about increased exposure in the Capitol building?

~S~